Frozen Powers III - For the Sunrise
by Aeluna
Summary: [KristoffxAnna] [ElsaxOC] [HansxOC] - Six years after Dawn's death, the Southern Isles have finally reappeared and are prepared for war. This will be like nothing Arendelle has ever known—this time, they are fighting for Dawn; for Anna's little sunrise. [Dark scenes] [Series Complete!] MASSIVE THANKS TO ALL MY REVIEWERS, ESPECIALLY KLIME (pie) FOR SUCH MEANINGFUL WORDS!
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, this is going to be the last book in the Frozen Powers series (after a year, it's become a part of my life and it breaks my heart to think it'll be over). I hope that my writing skills have improved since I first began the series - back when Frozen Powers wasn't actually intended to be a series! - so I also hope that this will be a satisfying finale, and that you will enjoy it!**

**Now, let's begin... **

* * *

Young Princess Mia of Arendelle was the perfect example of what a royal of the time was expected to be: with her long, platinum blonde hair pulled up into a braided bun at the back of her head, her pale skin flawless and her large, bright blue eyes of equal colour to her magic, framed by large, thick black eyelashes, she was truly an image of beauty, though she was not one to brag about such things. After her haunted second year of life, she'd lost a large amount of her cheerful and carefree nature - including the traits which would have made her a little less modest - which she had possessed before, instead acting more seriously than she otherwise would have been, though she did still enjoy a little happy play from time to time. However, she was still a sweet girl; now aged eight years old, her birthday having been one week before, it had been just over six years since her brutal treatment as toddler, in the place she'd always known simply as "the caves".

Even after those years, though the memories were fuzzy and blurred, she still awoke in a sweat, panting, from time to time, the distinctive pair of cold eyes always the last thing she saw when she awoke from a nightmare. She tried to block it out, tried to convince herself it wasn't real, even, but there was nothing for it; the small scars covering her back and sides, born from the harsh gashes of the slash of a rough, slicing whip on a toddler's delicate skin were evidence enough.

But today, Mia wasn't feeling any of the primal fear that she sometimes awoke with, nor the over-powering commands of instinct throughout the day which accompanied this. No, today, she was simply feeling contented - excited, almost, although seeing people she hadn't seen in a while always put her slightly on edge. Who knew what could happen to someone within a few months?

She watched quietly from the corner of the room where she was sitting silently, her mind occupied with a new puzzle her Father had recently brought home for her, using the meoney he'd earned as an ice harvester - for even now that he was a Prince, had been for many years, he refused to quit his work - to purchase it. She had been working on the challenge at hand for days now, and after all her effort, a picture was finally beginning to take shape.

Glancing up from her work, she rolled her eyes disapprovingly at her two younger siblings, Thomas and Kari, now aged five years and four months, give or take a few days, and her cousin Fredrik, who would be celebrating his sixth in just under a month. The three were running around like hooligans, laughing as they squabbled with each other, and the poor maid watching over them looked as if she was about to cry, having no control over the animals which were part of Mia's family; sighing, she got up slowly and paused for a second, feeling her magic flare up before she released it into the air, ice spreading up her sister, brother and cousin's feet, trapping them. Smiling softly, she sat back down slowly and continued with her puzzle, while the other children glared at her angrily.

"Miaaa!" Kari whined as she struggled against the ice, "Let us go, Mia! My feet are numb!"

Mia, in turn, simply smiled; she'd be horrified if she actually injured anyone, but she knew that her siblings and cousin were okay, they just couldn't move. She wouldn't leave them too long, because she understood that they actually could be in pain then, but a few seconds never hurt anyone.

"Calm down first," She replied simply, as she searched through the pile of puzzle pieces for one which fit. Kari - ever the short tempered one - glared at her older sister even more harshly, her face a scowl.

"You're not nice, Mia!" She cried, trying to stomp her foot in frustration, but only succeeding in falling forwards, something which only heightened her frustration. Mia laughed as she rolled her eyes, finally releasing the three from their bonds.

"Now you all calm down,'' She scolded, sounding much older than her mere eight years, "Or else I'll tell Mama not to let Eva come to visit, and she'll have to go home to Corona!"

Kari pouted in frustration, but Freddie just nodded reluctantly as he sat down on the floor looking grumpy, but said nothing more. Thomas, however, gasped theatrically, placing his hand over his mouth as his chocolate-brown eyes widened in mock-shock, though the blonde hair upon his head fell forward slightly, hiding part of his face.

"You wouldn't!" He cried, pretending to be horrified that his older sister would consider such a thing, but the curves at the edges of his lips - and the fact that Mia knew his nature as well - meant that she didn't pay him any mind, letting the boy have his fun. Ever since the twins - technically triplets, but after Dawn's untimely passing, none could bear to call them that, for it was too painful a reminder - had been young, while Kari had always had a hot-headed nature, though not necessary cruel or cold, Tom had always been more of a joker, much more light-hearted than his sister. The two were like yin and yang; Kari was smart, not so much as Mia had been at her age - but then she had always tended to stick to herself, ever since the Caves - but still very intelligent. Thomas, on the other hand, was not quite such a natural with words and numbers, but he was more like his Uncle and Father, instead better at other types of thinking; survival skills and the like. In the end, the twins fitted well together; what one lacked, the other had, thus meaning that together, they made up one whole.

Mia, laughing at her brother's antics, then turned to the maid, who was still watching from the corner of the room. "Can we go now please, Ma'am?" She asked politely, and the poor woman looked relieved as she nodded, her previously flustered look fading, as she decided that it was close enough to noon - the time which had been agreed that the miscreants could be allowed to come to the docks to wait for the arrival of their other cousin - for them to be released. She flopped down into a chair tiredly as she watched the three trouble makers, plus the ever more sensible Mia, leaving, but soon after jumped up again to do yet more work. The blonde-haired princess sighed as she left the room, certainly feeling bad that the maid had so much work to do, and deciding that she couldn't leave her to clean up after her siblings all alone, she waved her hand quickly, creating a gust of cold air which pushed the playing cards - abandoned a long while earlier and instead just thrown around the entire room - into one single, if messy, pile. The maid gave her a grateful smile, and ushered her out, promising that she could tidy up the rest.

Hurrying after her younger brother, sister and cousin, Mia eventually managed to catch up with them, waiting impatiently for her outside the castle, in the courtyard. From the look of them, panting, with hot red faces and breath condensing on the cold december air, they'd been running from the get-go, and didn't look best pleased about having to wait for their companion to catch up, either. Kari scowled at her sister, her quick temper - as strong as her fiery red hair - making her glare coldly again at Mia, who simply ignored it, knowing that she was just being her usual self.

"Mi," Freddie complained grumpily, "You're making us late... You have to let us go sledding now!" Fredrik was a sweet young boy, but he had no sense of fear, instead possessing a reckless sense of courage, and a cheekiness which seemed to often get him into trouble. However, his Mother had named him well, too - Elsa had always hoped that he'd live up to his name, which meant 'peaceful ruler', and he didn't disappoint; certainly, if someone else started a fight, he would join in if he had to defend himself, but he never initiated a quarrel himself.

Mia frowned at her cousin, looking skeptical. "I don't know, Freddie..." She said, receiving disappointed faces from the three children around her. Thomas looked up at her with large, puppy dog eyes of richest chocolate brown, and Freddie's green eyes glinted in the sunlight as they shone sadly. Even Kari lost her hard, outward expression; sinking down, she sat on the floor and drew up her knees, looking defeated.

Mia sighed, knowing full well that her siblings and cousin weren't truly sad, just playing with her especially soft side; it was cruel, really, for she hated to hurt anyone, emotionally or physically, after her traumatising childhood, and they were taking advantage of that weakness. Then again, they didn't know; none of the three understood why she was as skittish and quiet as she was. She liked to think that if they did know, they wouldn't make her feel guilty anymore, but she didn't want them to know. She didn't want them to think of her as being tainted, or ruined.

"No, don't do the eyes, Tom..." She said, but it was a pointless argument; accepting that the younger children were never going to give in, she sighed. "Okay, okay, but not fast!" She relented, feeling annoyed that she could be such a pushover; as she waited for the five year olds to find their sled, which they always kept close by for days when they could convince Mia to let them go, she whistled loudly for her old companion, Lysse. The reindeer came crashing across the cobblestone courtyard happily, now a fully grown - if young - reindeer doe, and she tossed her head happily as she licked Mia's cheek gently.

"No, no, no, Lysse!" The princess spluttered, as she pushed the reindeer away and wiped her face in the soft fur of the animal's neck, cringing. "Yuck! No kisses, Lysse!" In response, the doe simply lolled out her tongue and pawed the ground, before bending down to allow the princess to climb onto her back, which she quickly did.

As Mia waited patiently, Lysse began to get bored; spotting Seier a little way away, she let out a bleat, calling him over to play, and the large, but gentle wolf needed little convincing; bounding over happily, he jumped up at the doe's shoulders, and in response, she ran away playfully, her rider hanging on tightly, but laughing in glee and thrill; when she was riding, she felt truly at home. When she was riding, she could let go of all her fears and worries, and just be the girl she had been meant to be.

When the other three finally returned with their sled, Lysse had eventually settled down, and was now waiting patiently, with Seier stood besides her, wagging his tail and barking every so often. His eyes gleamed in excitement, as did those of the royal children, who pushed the sled in front of them, and clambered in, waiting for the older princess to help them go.

Sighing, Mia opened her palm and created a trail of smooth ice, rough enough to ensure the sled didn't go out-of-control-fast, but flat enough to let the three gather up some speed. Seier barked before he pushed them with his head, helping to get them moving, and after that, they didn't stop; Lysse had to trot quickly to keep as Thomas, Kari and Fredrik sped away, soon accelerating into a canter, and even a slow gallop at one point. Mia laughed along with her siblings and cousin as she sped alongside them, although she also kept a watchful eye upon the three, in case they did anything reckless (which, with Freddie around, was highly likely).

It only took a few minutes to reach the docks and, after creating a pile of snow to stop the sled's momentum (and to catch the children who were sent flying through the air from the impact), Mia hopped off of Lysse, patting her fondly and stroking her nose gently. Pulling a small mint from her pocket and feeding it to her as a treat, the reindeer instantly began bouncing around hyperly, her antlers getting caught on a nearby branch of a small tree, leaving her stuck, stood on her hind legs with her fronts dangling in the air. A bipedal reindeer was certainly a sight to see, and Mia giggled at her amusing friend.

After helping Lysse get down out of the tree, the young princess led her friend over to the docks, smiling shyly at her Mother, Father, and Aunt, who were already there with the three other children, waiting for the ship from Corona - which was currently drawing over the horizon now - and talking animatedly. Odd would also have been there, but at present, he was out at work, doing his job as protector of the forests near Arendelle, making sure everything was in check. Usually he wouldn't have gone out today, for it was normally the job of the army to go out in the forests to keep everything safe on such a nice day. Odd tended to only go out in the more dangerous weather, much to Elsa's distaste, because he knew the forests so well, and was so skilled in the art of survival - he had been doing it since the age of eleven, after all. It made sense that he should be the one to brave the forests in the most dangerous times, but it didn't mean people were happy about it. Either way, Odd had gone out that day, for he had had a nagging feeling that something wasn't right, and wasn't one to doubt his own instincts, after they kept him alive for almost fifteen years.

A few minutes passed as the group waited for the ship to reach the dock - although they saved about ten seconds of waiting time when Maximus simply jumped the remaining few metres with Rapunzel, Eugene and Eva on his back - and then Freddie, Thomas and Kari began to jump around in excitement, squealing. Mia shrunk into her Mother's side nervously as she smiled very slightly at the new-comers, and tried not to shake in fear, because though she knew it was silly - they were family, after all, and Rapunzel had even possessed the power to heal people, not exactly an evil talent. Still, her paranoid nature wouldn't let such knowledge settle her down.

Eva was the first to jump off of Max's back, and she ran over to greet her cousins, crying out, "Tom! Freddie! Kari!" She laughed, as she gave each a massive, bone-crushing, breath-stealing hug, lifting each of her peers off of the ground in the embrace. Eva had always been tall for her age, and it was this height which made such an action possible.

Turning to the last young Princess, she gave her a weak smile, and waved slightly. Despite their differences - Eva being a very spirited girl, if a little wacky at times, and Mia the exact opposite - Eva truly enjoyed the eldest girl's company more than any of her other cousins. Perhaps it was that she liked the calmer, less chaotic time she spent with her, or maybe that it was so rare that they spent time together that it felt more special.

PMia, in response, gave a small, timid smile back and waved shyly, shrinking behind her mother a little more, as she felt her hands chill, and a small icy film began to coat the cobbled floor in her unease. Gasping quietly, she closed her eyes and latched onto Anna's dress tightly, muttering, "Comtrol it, control it," over and over under her breath. The words, however, did nothing to calm her distress as more ice began to form, although not enough for anyone to really notice, and her breathing grew panicked. There was a large crowd around, clamouring to glimpse the royals from Corona, and she didn't want people to be scared of her. Mia admired her aunt's control, she truly did; if she had the added pressure of being Queen, then there would be no way she could control it, even in the slightest.

A soft hand took hold of the young girl's smaller, cold one, and the younger princess smiled, as her Mother gave a gentle, reassuring squeeze which said one thousand words.

_Don't worry, Mia - we're here for you._

Mia sighed as she thought of the love her family - her friends - and her Kingdom held for her, and she let out a breath of relief. Feeling the tension leak from her body, she smiled as the ice thawed, and felt a little more confident.

As the group made their way back to the castle, Mia slowly grew confident enough to go and speak with her cousin again, something she hadn't done in a while. Eva was certainly a distinctive person, and her appearance was often a cause of distress for Mia when she first saw her again; it wasn't that she was ugly, just that she was different, and to the poor, tormented princess, anyone different from the normal could pose a threat, or at least more of one. In her opinion, every person could only be trusted to some extent.

Eva was a very eye-catching individual; with her beautiful brown locks, which were highlighted with strong blonde streaks every now and then, and her eyes of different colours - as Arne's had been, Mia always thought as she remembered her deceased childhood friend - were intriguing, one a bright green, a colour which haunted the Princess' nightmares, and the other a soft brown. Her skin was tanned and supple, and her lips were perfectly sculpted and full. The only blemish on her appearance was the scar which ran down the entire right side of her cheek, but though she had inherited some of her mother's now lost healing magic, she refused to heal it. The scar was a part of her, and she liked it, strangely enough. But as said before, she had always been a little wacky.

After a brief conversation, the remainder of the journey back to the castle was quiet, as Mia drifted back to her Mother's side slowly, still a little wary. The girl was younger than her, and yet she still couldn't quite trust her; she knew it was silly, but that was just the way she was.

Just before they reached the castle, the sound of thudding hooves came up behind them, and Odd came rushing into the courtyard, in his arms a young woman, whose face was a horrifying sight to see indeed. Mia felt her head swim as she almost fainted, and she had to run inside to get away from the scene before her, the look of her, the smell of her blood, and those haunting, agonised moans, gurgled from a throat filled with blood.

Fredrik, Thomas and Kari, for once, followed their sister's lead, but poor Eva was needed to stay, to help out. Her hands trembled as she placed them upon the woman's chest, refusing to touch that mess of a face, and she jumped as the woman began to cough, blood spilling out of her mouth and splattering the young Princess' face. All the spectators watched on with sorrow-filled eyes, but knew that she was the only one who could help.

Her hands shaking even more now, Eva returned them to the woman's chest, and began to sing, her voice that of a siren, and the sound was beautiful, would have been appreciated if not for the context they were being used in.

_Flower, gleam and glow,_

_Let your powers shine,_

_Make the clock reverse, _

_Bring back what once was mine,_

Through squinted eyes, Eva could see the woman's injuries beginning to heal; that completely mangled face started to stitch together, the blood flow less, and her heavy breathing grew gentler.

_Heal what has been hurt,_

_Change the fates' design,_

_Save what has been lost,_

_Bring back what once was mine,_

Eva was more confident now as she watched the woman, whose injuries had nearly stopped bleeding, and she let out a sigh, before singing the very last line, closing her eyes again.

_What once was mine..._

Peeking back at the woman with her green and brown eyes filled with hope, Eva smiled when she saw how much better she looked already; the flaps of skin which had been peeling off of her face were now loosely stitched back on, as if they had been tacked back onto her face, and only a few droplets of blood beaded at the edges of the injured skin. Her breathing had returned to normal as well, and with a sigh of relief, Eva ran to her mother's arms, and stayed there.

Sadly, the woman still had a long way to go before she'd be healed again, and the thought made the young princess feel slightly guilty. With only her blonde _streaked_ hair, not fully blonde locks like her mother had used to possess, she only had a fraction of the power the Queen of Corona had had. She wasn't strong enough to reverse the affects of ageing like Rapunzel, nor could she completely heal an injury as severe as this woman's, but at least she could speed up the recovery process, take away some of the pain.

And that was what mattered.

* * *

Ayla's face bent into a cold smile as she watched her kingdom below her, getting ready to reclaim their former glory. The people worked as hard as they could, some creating defences to stop an attack from the sea which would inevitably come when the sorceress' spell fell; some helping to strengthen existing buildings by making the walls thicker, more sturdy; some making new weapons and fixing the existing ones which had been damaged or worn; and some harvesting as much food from the fields as possible. Now that everyone knew of Ayla's magic, she had been able to manipulate the weather to match that of the warmer seasons, better suited for growing vegetables, each large plot a different season.

As she looked out of the window, she didn't notice a small child coming up behind her, and she jumped around as she felt a small tug on her dress. Looking down, she noticed her son looking up at her with large, green eyes, his blonde hair falling in a mop over his head, and Ayla plastered a forced smile upon her face.

"Why, hello, Seth." She said sweetly, trying not to let her disgust at the illegitimate boy show. In truth, over the past few years, she had grown to care slightly for the poor boy, who had been raised on lie after lie, for he was, after all, her son, and as far as children went, he wasn't too annoying. Granted, that was mainly because he was normally scared of her and her abilities and didn't hang around too much, and his strict upbringing had rammed into his head the fact that bothering the adults was bad and would receive punishment, but he was still much more bearable than the Mia brat had been.

"Ayla," Seth said quietly, using the name he'd been forced to use. He'd once called her 'Mama', and his father 'Papa', but such nasty habits had quickly been drilled out of him. "Can I go and help the people please?" His green eyes shone with longing, for he was rarely allowed out of the castle, for neither Ayla nor Hans trusted him enough (though they used the excuse that they simply didn't want their 'adopted' son getting hurt).

A small part of her heart ached to grant him his wish, but she held herself together as she bent down, trying to look apologetic. "I'm sorry, Seth," She said, "But you can't go outside today. It's too dangerous; you could be hurt, and you know how much it would hurt my poor, poor heart if anything happened to you." She knew it was a downright lie - perhaps she'd feel a bit of guilt, a few minutes of grief for the loss of her son, but not much more. Still, she had to keep up appearances. "And just think about poor Hans - he needs to keep things organised, and if he's worrying about you, then that won't happen, hmm?"

Seth sighed sadly. "I know, I know." He replied, quietly. ''I just..." He trailed off, and shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

Ayla was suddenly intrigued by her son's statement, and began to press him for information. "Whatever's the matter, Darling?" She asked sweetly, although he was as much her darling, as she was innocent. Seth looked down at his toes, and he slouched his shoulders, looking ashamed of himself.

"I... I..." He began, and sighed, trying to put his words together. "I just wanted to try and find my parents. My real parents."

The words struck at Ayla's heart as she felt a pain she'd never felt before, the words from her son's mouth hurting as she realised that he'd never know how closely related he was to her. She sighed, wishing she could just tell him everything, and knowing she couldn't - and also noticing how weak this boy had made her.

"Oh, Sweetie," She said, for the first time with genuine affection in her voice, though it sickened her too. "Your parents are... dead..." She said, the words hurting as she spoke them, and she saw his green eyes grow dimmer. "You know that, but don't worry - me and Hans, we'll always look after you."

Seth sighed as he moved closer to her, forgetting how dangerous she was in his time of need, as he wrapped his arms around her, and incredibly, it felt almost nice that her son needed her for support.

_What is happening to me? _She thought in disgust after the previous emotion had registered, but she didn't push the boy away, not just yet, and she could see tears rolling down his cheeks as he clung onto her. "I love you, Mama," he said, and the word slipped out before he could stop himself, but Ayla could barely find it in herself to correct him. Still, though she knew she had to, or she'd become sappy, and be no use to anyone.

"Not Mama, Sweetie. Just Ayla." She reminded him, as she painfully pushed him away. "Go on, go and find Hans - I'm sure he'd love to see you."

Seth looked saddened, but slowly nodded, and turned away to leave. Ayla tore her own gave away and gave herself a slap with her magic.

_Get a grip, woman. _She thought to herself, _He is just the same as any other child._

But she knew deep down that Seth had made her a little more compassionate, a little more human, as he had done with Hans, too, she could tell - even the Prince seemed to have a small soft-spot for the little boy that was his son. And the strange fact was, that though she told herself that giving in to love would make her weaker, she could feel the magic coursing through her veins; she could feel how much stronger it had grown as of recent.

And she could feel how much more dangerous she was, too.

* * *

**First, in response to a guest review by KLime at the end of the last book about Ayla being able to create bacteria meaning there's no hope for anyone and that there's nothing to write about in this last 'book', I guess I forgot to make my reasoning clear; Ayla can't create much bacteria at one time, only enough to target one person, in this case, and it wouldn't be deadly either, rather just a weaker type of bacteria. **

**For example, for most people, bronchitis (Dawn's illness) would simply give them a cough and an uncomfortably sore throat. However, in the case of Dawn, she was extremely susceptible, because not only did she have a weak immune system and a weak heart, she also had weak lungs, meaning the illness affected her more than others. Bronchitis targets the bronchioles and makes them inflamed (if I remember correctly), so this would have made her already-difficult breathing even more of a struggle, and she wouldn't be able to feed because she'd have such a sore throat. On top of this, bronchitis can lead to pneumonia, which, I expect, would have also been the case for Dawn. **

**This new talent of Ayla's would have been a recent development, and like I said before, she wouldn't be able to do it enough to create a deadly epidemic, because she couldn't create really strong illnesses, nor could she spread thousands of bacteria at one time - it would be too strenuous. She could possibly slow down her enemies by spreading common cold bacteria, which obviously multiplies quickly and spreads easily, but she couldn't create a deadly killer-disease, even in small quantities - it would be beyond, her abilities. **

**However, the fact that people didn't understand bacteria at the time a fair point - all I can say in defence is that Frozen itself isn't completely perfect for following history, for example Anna's tandem bike. I'm pretty sure bikes were not that modern when frozen was set! Ahaa, I can't deny that was a mistake, but oh well.**

**Wow, that was a long reply! Second, I'd like to apologise about Sven and Lysse's lifespans; usually, reindeer only live about twenty years maximum, but that would mean that Sven would have already died, considering Kristoff would have owned him at the age of eight, and now, in this final book, he and Elsa are about 32 years old. Thus, Sven would have died four years earlier at least, and I couldn't bear that, and I doubt you guys could either. So, hey, they now have the lifespan of a normal horse, so Sven can keep going still! Yay!**

**Last thing that I'm going to say is that I'll try and include Olaf in this book; in the last few, he has been... uh... on a world tour, and now he has finally returned? Okay, I know it's a weak excuse, but frankly, I forgot him, and I feel bad.**

**Sorry that this chapter was a bit dull; it was basically just a 're-introduce the characters' chapter, but please give me a chance!**

**Thanks for putting up with me!**

**-SG**


	2. Chapter 2 - for CdrRMF KLime (guest)

**Get a grip, woman.**_** She thought to herself, **_**He is just the same as any other child.**

_**But she knew deep down that Seth had made her a little more compassionate, a little more human, as he had done with Hans, too, she could tell - even the Prince seemed to have a small soft-spot for the little boy that was his son. And the strange fact was, that though she told herself that giving in to love would make her weaker, she could feel the magic coursing through her veins; she could feel how much stronger it had grown as of recent.**_

_**And she could feel how much more dangerous she was, too.**_

* * *

Ayala could feel her magic pumping in her veins, an overwhelming tidal wave of power as she practiced, training herself in endurance so that using complicated magic would not be so tiring. She could feel the sweat on her brow as she focused on the demanding task at hand; 'jumping' from place to place, as she liked to call it; in other words disappearing from one place, to reappear in another. Moving things through nothingness to get somewhere else was not an easy feat, and when done more than three times without a break, she was left gasping from exhaustion, her knees wobbling, incredibly weak. She'd been trying to aim to get into a differently shaped hoop each time, to work on her accuracy too, but it was easier said than done, and she often ended up on top of the large wardrobe of her room, remaining there until she was strong enough to 'jump' back to the ground.

After another half an hour or so of fruitless practice, Ayla finally gave in, deciding she had more important things to do right now than work on her magical endurance, which she could easily train in again some other day. Breathing heavily as she made her way down to one of many living rooms in the castle - the smallest one, which people tended to avoid in preference of the larger, more luxurious ones - she flopped down on the sofa tiredly, and flexed her fingers a few times, before creating a puff of magic, which she directed towards the stables, where she knew Hans could be found, and instructed to tell him where to find her. It was a new trick she'd accidentally discovered she had the ability of recently, and what better excuse to use it than after working so hard already? She deserved to be lazy for a few minutes.

Hans showed up not too long after Ayla had sent her message, looking thoroughly frustrated, and it wasn't hard to see why; after vanquishing the little puff - a fitting name, she thought - which had been clearly pestering the Prince by bouncing off his head to get him to move, she gestured for him to sit down across from her, and she smiled sweetly.

Hans slouched slightly as he leaned back in the sofa, waiting for his now-consort to speak. He hadn't wanted to have to marry her, but it had been a beneficial move; in joining with her, his people saw him as truly being reformed, no longer the monster he once was. Even his brothers, the very same people who had once teased and bullied him, now looked to him as the one in charge - his Father was certainly not getting any younger, that much was for sure, and someone had to be leader, after all. After his efforts to avenge the death of his older brother Bjørn, and his further attempts to restore the kingdom to it's former glory - even if he had not succeeded in doing so yet - his brothers had gained a new respect for him, although he still had suspicions that Ayla's magic may have partially influenced their decision to follow him.

It was a nice thought, that after all he'd been through, things had actually turned out well for him; he'd gained the respect of his siblings, regained the respect of his people, and was well on his way to being leader. The law stated that the eldest surviving son would be the one to take the throne on the death of the King, but that rule didn't count anymore; all it would take would be a wave of Ayla's hand, and voila - the law would be re-written, and everyone would just accept that he should be Monarch, and no one would raise a fuss.

And he even had a wife and heir. Perhaps he'd rather not have to get married, but his joining with Ayla had raised the people's opinion of him, and their 'adoption' of Seth meant that he could inherit the throne when Hans passed, making him immortal, in a sense. That was one thing the sorceress' magic couldn't do - keep one alive indefinitely, although she could heal injuries and cure maladies, meaning she could at least make people live longer - but it could, again, change the law to allow adopted children to be proper heirs.

No, things hadn't turned out so badly for him. Ayla's beginning to speak broke him out of his musings, and he listened carefully as she laid out her plan, which she'd spent a few days thinking about, trying to perfect.

"Here's the idea," she began, as she reached over for a chocolate, which was currently sitting in a small, flat dish, surrounded by other confectionaries much too expensive for normal people to afford. She had done well for herself, too, Hans thought as he waited for her to continue. "Well, personally, I think we need to appear weak, at least to the other kingdoms. If they don't see us as a threat, then they'll be relaxed about us, and that'll leave us in a good position. They'll be weak, and we can hit them with a surprise attack later on."

Hans nodded understandingly. "That's a good point." He agreed, "That way, they wouldn't have any need to build up large armies to withstand our own, which they will believe to be weak and small - whereas exactly the opposite is true." He frowned slightly at his own words, but shrugged off his doubts. "Personally, I'd prefer to just go all out, but that's just my style, and your tactics are probably better, though it pains me to admit it."

Ayla smiled slightly, her lips curved at the edges in knowing amusement.

"Trust you to want to show off," She murmured, rolling her eyes, "But bragging is the way to get yourself killed, and I should know. My Mother and Brother were killed by Queen Elsa - crushed, even - after they made a point about their powers, and about how they killed her parents, and her Aunt and Uncle, too - the King and Queen of Corona - for their scheme. Certainly made her much angrier- anyway, be careful; don't boast of your power and strength, or you'll only be over-powered in the long run."

Hans sighed. "You're bloody annoying, you know?" He commented, before pausing, and frowning, his green eyes turning to the front of the room, by the door. Ayla's bright blue eyes also followed his gaze, and she instantly noticed what it was that had caught the Prince's attention. Clearing her throat, she watched with partially scathing eyes as a small boy came into view.

"Seth..." She said warningly, "I've told you before about listening in on conversations. It is rude, you know." Her son whimpered slightly, and hung his head, murmuring 'I'm sorry...' a few times, until Hans rose. The poor boy let out a squeak of fear as he shrunk back even more, terrified at his Father's glare. The two reluctant parents secretly held a special place in their cold, impenetrable hearts for their child, but neither would tolerate him going against the rules, and one of the biggest was not to snoop around, and listen in to others' conversations. After all, if he heard vital information, he was only young; it wouldn't take much for him to talk to an enemy, and he wouldn't even know what he was doing wrong.

However, as Hans began to move around the sofa to scold the boy - at which Ayla had instinctively begun to rise herself, to protect her son, though she knew she shouldn't get so attached- something completely unexpected came about. As Seth's eyes widened, shining in fear, there was a brief spark of rebellion, even power, in them, before the child appeared to just... Vanish.

Ayla frowned and squinted in the direction her son had been as she let out a little gasp, and then cautiously made her way over. Focusing, she placed her hand out and eventually touched something warm and alive; smiling, she beamed at her son, forgetting her anger and instead feeling both excited and... Proud?

"Camoflauge," She muttered quietly as Hans also came over, and she looked up to him excitedly. "Don't you see- this could work to our benefit! He can act as a spy, for Lord knows I can't. I'm too busy for a start, nor could I keep up such magic for a long period of time! I am all rounded in magic, but if he specialises in camouflage, the he'll be good at it. Strong, even!"

Hans frowned, beginning to question if his consort had told him the truth before, although he couldn't deny the advantageous ness of the situation either way. "You said before, that the offspring of one who can harness magic will not be able to do so themselves; that they will just have the blood in their veins to pass onto their own heirs. Thus, how does this work?" He spoke under his breath so that Seth couldn't hear, and Ayla shrugged.

"I don't know- maybe because I wasn't born magic? But that doesn't matter; this development is brilliant!" She then turned to her confused son, who was now visible again, and ruffled his hair. "Good boy; go to your room, and I'll get the chefs to make you a cake."

Seth's mouth fell at his Mother's kindness, and the offer of cake almost made him feel dizzy with glee. He rarely ever got cake, except for his birthday and at Christmas, so he knew he'd done brilliantly, for whatever reason. He liked this new fondness Ayla held for him, and he only wished Hans would be a little less stern, but he'd take what he could get.

After all, this was possibly the nicest they'd ever been to him, at least when together.

* * *

**First, to WildVirus - sure, feel free to draw the kids - I can't wait to see it!**

**And second, to everyone else, I got a comment on the last chapter suggesting I should update just once a week - what do you guys think? Every three/four days (at least I try, anyway) or every week, maybe on Sunday night? Vote in a review - guest and member views will both be taken into account!**

**Please leave a review with your vote, because you know how much they mean to me! I love you all!**

**(*Picks up a knife* Now... Who isn't going to review? *Insert evil laugh here*) **

**-SG**


	3. Chapter 3 - for WildVirus (guest)

_**Hans frowned, beginning to question if his consort had told him the truth before, although he couldn't deny the advantageous ness of the situation either way. "You said before, that the offspring of one who can harness magic will not be able to do so themselves; that they will just have the blood in their veins to pass onto their own heirs. Thus, how does this work?" He spoke under his breath so that Seth couldn't hear, and Ayla shrugged.**_

_**"I don't know- maybe because I wasn't born magic? But that doesn't matter; this development is brilliant!" She then turned to her confused son, who was now visible again, and ruffled his hair. "Good boy; go to your room, and I'll get the chefs to make you a cake."**_

_**Seth's mouth fell at his Mother's kindness, and the offer of cake almost made him feel dizzy with glee. He rarely ever got cake, except for his birthday and at Christmas, so he knew he'd done brilliantly, for whatever reason. He liked this new fondness Ayla held for him, and he only wished Hans would be a little less stern, but he'd take what he could get.**_

_**After all, this was possibly the nicest they'd ever been to him, at least when together.**_

* * *

Odd grinned at Kristoff excitedly, his eyes shining with enthusiasm as he shifted around in his saddle to get the best seat, holding the reins tightly to stop his horse, Brandy Shot, from throwing his head around. The animal pawed the ground in anticipation and snorted at Sven, who was stood next to him, challenging him to even dare try to win, and Sven gave a confident grin as he stood taller, appearing to dominate the smaller Fjord horse.

"Racers!" A voice called above the noise of the gathered crowd, and the riders all tightened their reins - except in Kristoff's case, for he never used them - and held their horses back tightly. "On your marks!" The animals all tried to shake their heads free of their companions' hold, growing tense and ready to run, "Get set!" The riders nodded to each-other respectfully, wishing the others luck, before they focused their attention back in front of them. "Go!"

A horn blew, and chaos reigned as the horses - and the single reindeer - burst forward in a surge of speed, their hooves pounding the earth below them harshly, their heads stretched as far forward as they could reach. Sweat quickly beaded on each animal's sides, around their girths and on their necks, as their warm breath condensed on the cold, cold New Year's Day air.

The animals sped around the first bend, taking the turn at a sharp angle as their riders hung on tightly, their mounts having to fight not to slip over as they galloped hard across the very slightly muddy ground. It had been a cold winter for sure, and though there had thankfully been no rain in a few days, giving the track a chance to dry out a little, the ground was still slightly muddy and loose, making it more dangerous for the racers.

As the final horse rounded the corner, just a head or two behind the next, the poor creature lost its footing; with a cry of surprise and fear, both equine and rider fell, the stallion's head catching the flank of the mare in front. She, too, let out a loud squeal as she tripped from the impact, trying to keep upright but failing, and she slipped too. People quickly rushed onto the course to help the riders get up, although the Doctor had to be called for the first.

Elsa, who was watching from nearby, let out a little gasp as she began to stand up in her stirrups to call off the race, for the muddiness of the ground was clearly a health hazard, but she was quickly stopped by her son's glare. Freddie's eyes had narrowed when he noticed what his mother was about to do, and Anna quickly took her Sister's hand, shaking her head and pulling the Queen back down into the saddle.

"Elsa, you can't stop the race now!" Anna said quickly, although she felt nervous herself for the racers, especially the two who were a part of her family; her husband and brother-in-law. "You know how much everyone complained when you cancelled before; they'd be furious if you stopped it now! Ugh, I still have a headache from the shouting..." She winced and touched her fingers tenderly to her head, and Elsa giggled slightly, knowing that her sister was not being serious. Anna's mouth widened into a grin, as she reached over and gently poked her sister's shoulder for her lack of concern.

"Be nice!" She complained cheekily, "What sort of big sister are you, to not care for me in my time of need? I'm in the wars here!"

Elsa rolled her eyes at her drama-queen of a sibling. "I'm the sort of sister who knows _exactly_ what you are like, Rascal!" She teased, "I can't take you seriously for a second!"

Anna pouted as if Elsa's words had really hurt, but when she saw her raised eyebrows, she sighed in resignation, crying, "Fine, fine, I'm not serious!" She laughed slightly, to enforce the idea that she wasn't truly frustrated, and then her attention returned to the race.

"Anyway, like I said, you can't stop it now. The racers'll be distraught after all the training they've put in, Odd the most. He loves you, but I think he's bored with Royal life - even scouting the forests can't do much for him, as he doesn't do it often. Kristoff's okay, 'cause he goes out ice harvesting, at that gives him something to do, but I think Odd needs something else to do! Don't take away this chance for him to just have a bit of fun!"

Elsa sighed as she nodded, absent mindedly stroking her horse's neck gently. "I guess you're right..." She said, and then her eyes brightened. "Hey, here's an idea; what if he looked after the horses? You know, train up the foals, exercise the older ones, hmm? That'll give him a job to do, and he enjoys that sort of thing, after all."

Anna nodded happily. "You should suggest it to him later." She agreed, and then turned back to the race. "Come on - we've lost sight of them all. They're on a curved route, and they're jumping hedges too, which'll slow them down- if we gallop straight, we should be able to catch up to them, see how they are doing."

Elsa nodded in agreement, replying that she had to check for any casualties, her heart aching that she had to do such a thing, but she still pulled her horse around, trotting him away from the fence as Anna trailed just a little behind; she then spun him around and, pushing him into a canter, the gelding leaped over the fence, landing and taking a few short steps before jumping the one opposite, followed close behind by the mare, Misty.

The two slowed their horses down to a halt once they'd landed, and then began to laugh happily as they saw the shocked faces on the other side. If anyone else had done such a thing, people would understandably have been outraged, but no one really questioned anything the Queen did - though everyone knew she'd never harm her subjects on purpose, something made obvious ever since her coronation and her distress over freezing her kingdom, they still appreciated that she did still hold their very lives in her hands.

As such, aside from her decision to cancel the race which had been scheduled for months, to which the Kingdom protested loudly - mainly because Anna had already done so, leaving them feeling confident. Even her own family had complained, and in the end, there was no resisting her nephew, Thomas', puppy dog eyes, so she'd been forced to recall that decision. Everyone had been pleased, although the two injured riders were probably regretting that they'd entered now. Still, they'd be cared for by the royal doctor, something which Elsa had insisted upon; unlike many rulers of the time, she was not the sort of Queen who let her people suffer.

"Let's go, Elsa!" Anna cried happily, as her mare began to trot, whinnying happily. Elsa, in response, sent a quick look behind her, where her son, nephew and her youngest niece were stood, watching for the racers to come around the corner, with Mia sat on Lysse, looking around earnestly, looking quite happy that she had a better view than everyone else. The route would take about two or three minutes at a flat out gallop; the racers should be crossing the line soon, although there was still another lap to go.

The young princess gained a rare glint in her eyes as she watched her Mother and Aunt leaving, and her heart began to pound rapidly in her chest in excitement. Lysse shook her head happily too, and then, when her family was completely out of sight, she clucked her tongue; the reindeer jumped into action, leaping bouncily over the fence onto the track, and then stretched her neck forwards, giving a little buck of excitement as she raced across the torn up grass. Mia let out a yell of glee as she followed the same track her Father had just a few minutes before, feeling completely at home on the back of her best friend, allowing herself the freedom she rarely gave in to, letting the thrill of the gallop take her over.

Yells sounded all around as she raced away from the start, people crying at her to "get off of the track" for fear she'd get hurt - or, for those who were less than impressed by her, such as the boy who had called her a freak when she first displayed her ability of mind-control, for fear she'd ruin the race - but the Princess ignored all these pleas. She'd never normally be so rebellious, but when she riding, she forgot her past, forgot her instinctive nervousness and passiveness, and was the girl she had been meant to be when she was born; not nearly so eccentric as her Mother, but still a lover of fun and adventure, living for just a taste of excitement. But the caves had ruined her, young though she had been- she'd become a completely different child, more like her Aunt who'd also had a traumatic childhood, than Anna. Perhaps Elsa had gotten over that now, but Mia knew fear was ingrained into her very soul now, and she'd never be quite so fun-loving as she could have been.

But when she galloped with Lysse, when she leaped over jumps and splashed through streams, she could finally be the girl who had been lost for years; she could embrace her true self for that short amount of time, and could forget the trauma-scarred instincts which had been forced upon her.

And it made such a feeling of freedom even more blissful and precious, worth more to her than any gold or diamond tiara her family could buy.

Behind her, she could hear the laughter of her siblings and her cousin, loud and clear as she galloped away from them and she joined in, feeling pleased that she'd been able to humour her family so; she was always the perfect little princess, and as such, it always brought the other three happiness when she just let go and was more like them, but they rarely saw her do so. Perhaps they hoped that the change in her meant she'd be more like them and would join in their games, and while she knew that wouldn't happen, she wouldn't tell them that - she'd let them have their hope.

As she continued to gallop onwards - the shouts from people on the outside of the fence being completely ignored by her - she felt her enthusiasm and excitement turn to a slightly tingling feeling of dread, and Lysse's ears began to flatten, as if something was up ahead. Still, Mia continued racing, trying to pass off her fear as a side effect of the thrill, and tried to continue to smile. She let out a forced yell of glee as she leaped over the hedges crossing the course, and softly patted her friend's neck to try to calm her too, but it was all in vain; as she approached the half-way mark for the course, she noticed that there was a crowd gathered just ahead, horses and humans alike, and her heart thudded in her chest, and Lysse whined in distress as she was urged forward.

What Mia saw next almost made her pass out; as she looked on at the scene, she remained confused about what was going on until she got a little closer, and could see over the shoulders of the other racers, who were watching with just as much interest and fear as she was.

On the ground, five people were stood, all of whom had a very close connection to the young Princess: her Mother and Father; her Aunt and Uncle; and a person she hadn't seen in years. A tall, slender and beautiful woman, with blonde hair and a large pair of eyes filled with a sickening passion for blood. Bright blue as her own, but with a much sharper edge to them.

Mia let out a shriek as the woman grinned at her, and her previous thrill of riding disappeared instantly. She pulled back on Lysse's mane roughly as she began to panic, trying to turn the animal around to run off, but her actions only scared the poor creature; her stiff body made her certain that something was really, really wrong, and she began to trot on the spot, rearing up and bucking in a terror similar to her rider's.

Mia began to sob as she desperately tried to turn around, to run off, but Lysse couldn't understand anything her friend asked in her own state of panic. Yet she could hear the child's weeping, and knew that she was truly terrified, and she lost all traces of rational thinking she had previously possessed; she suddenly spun and began galloping blindly, heading for the fence surrounding the race, which had already been deserted by the spectators and jumped, bleating out in fear as Mia clung on desperately to her mane, her face buried in her friend's neck. She landed sloppily as she lost her footing slightly in the mud, and behind her, Mia could hear her mother calling out her name, but there was nothing she could do.

With a jolt, Lysse suddenly spun on the spot, trying to escape from some terrible threat her rider couldn't see, and the princess looked up tentatively to find out what it was. Immediately she wished she hadn't; there stood Ayla, popping from place to place, grinning even more sadistically than she ever remembered as she blocked the reindeer's path. Lysse began to back up, jumping side to side to try and escape - nearly throwing Mia off as she did - and the sorceress grinned, then stopped moving.

The next action passed in a blur for the poor child, as she clung on while her friend bolted back to where the rest of the riders were, who had all dismounted now and were trying to calm their own skittish horses down, who were clearly jumpy from the reindeer's bolting. She hugged Lysse's neck desperately as her tears wetted the nervous creature's fur, and she instantly knew when Ayla had popped back as she felt her mount jump, only stopped by her mother, who were trying to hold on and keep her calm - not an easy feat without reins. She didn't object as she felt herself be pulled off by a pair of gentle, slightly cold hands - her Aunt, undoubtedly - and then cuddled into her mother's leg, cowering in fear as she saw the sorceress in front of her.

Kristoff and Odd, who were standing with their own animals and smoothing their noses to keep them calm - though Sven shared their anger more than his peers' fear - quickly noticed the girl's reaction, and both sent cold glares at the woman, mustering up as much intense rage as was possible so that their eyes shone with malice. Just a little way off, the women were just as enraged.

"Go back to the village." She said to the riders behind her, though she didn't look at them, keeping her gaze on the sorceress before her. "The race is off." No one protested this time; the men mounted their horses quickly, and galloped off, leaving the Queen, the Princesses and the Princes behind with arguably the world's most powerful sorceress.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Odd snarled, his eyes full of fury, and Ayla grinned coldly.

"Oh, I'm just dropping by," She said in reply, shrugging as if it was a casual thing. She then turned to his wife, and her eyes narrowed scornfully, but she continued smiling in the same twisted way. "How are you, _Your Majesty_?" Her words were filled with sarcasm as she said them, and she continued as Elsa's hands began to grow cold, as she prepared her magic for self-defence. Snow had begun to fall, but that was from the terrified child who was cowering behind her mother's leg, rather than from the Queen. "And how about your child - a boy, if my sources are correct? I'll bet he was an easy birth, hmm?"

Elsa glared at the woman as she recalled the night she'd had Freddie: Boxing day, six years ago. She cringed as she remembered the pain she'd felt that day, stronger than all other pains she'd felt in her life - aside from the emotional trauma when she'd watched her sister freeze to death, and this attracted the younger woman's attention; Anna frowned slightly as she stopped glowering at the sorceress, and turned to the Queen in concern.

"Elsa..." She began, but her sister shook her head.

"Not now, Anna." She commanded, and the Princess relented, turning her attention back to Ayla, who was looking even more pleased with herself now.

"Ah, so I see I made my mark?" She laughed slightly, and both Elsa and Odd, who knew how much the magic had affected her, were furious. "I must admit, I'm glad; after all the effort it took, not to mention that last bit of magic to get you out of _my_ Kingdom, I was in a bit of a state."

Mia whimpered at the reminder of being rescued from the kingdom, and Anna bent down to pick her up, cuddling the girl close with a little difficulty - she was too big now to pick up really, but she managed it, for her daughter's sake.

"I've had enough of this!" The older Princess shouted, and the animals around her jumped at her sudden outburst. "Get out of our kingdom - you aren't welcome here, _Witch_!"

Ayla's eyes widened in shock, and then she laughed in surprise. "Witch, eh?" She shrugged. "I guess I deserve that - but I'm not going anywhere without a fight. I quite like it here, you see."

Elsa took the opportunity now to step forwards, and her magic flared up inside. She watched the sorceress carefully for a few seconds, and then shot a sudden burst of ice at her feet, just trying to immobilise her - though she quickly realised afterwards that such an action probably wouldn't work anyway.

There would only be one way to take the woman down; through her heart. And she'd vowed to never do that again, promised herself she wouldn't do it to anyone... but then again, she was the Queen. She had to protect her people; both her subjects _and_ her family.

The sorceress snarled, and then jumped to the side to avoid the blast. She held her hands out towards Elsa - something which she never normally did, usually opting to just click her fingers - and the Queen quickly prepared for her attack as she shot another blast of ice at her, her own palms sweating and shaking from doing what she had to do. Ayla's eyes widened as she shot her own blast back, and the two hit, exploding with such force that everyone was sent flying backwards.

A little while passed, the force making everyone present black out for a half minute or so, but then they came around groggily. Kristoff and Odd first, followed by Elsa and Anna. Little Mia remained unconscious, but she was stable and, most importantly, not scared in her current state.

And Ayla lay on the floor too, unmoving, her chest still. A short period of silence passed, and when she still didn't rise, Odd slowly began to inch towards her. Elsa watched, horrified, as he crept towards the woman, who would kill him as soon as blink, and throw a party to celebrate such an achievement after.

"Odd!" She whispered, just loud enough for him to hear, but he purposefully ignored her. She continued to call for him, but received no response as he continued forward, creeping up to the sorceress and then pausing. He tentatively reached out his foot and gave her body a quick nudge, and when she gave no reaction, tried again, a little more forcefully, and then bent down. He paused for a moment, knowing how dangerous what he was doing was, but took a breath, and placed his fingers upon her cold wrist. He waited for a few seconds, and then stood up. Looking over to the rest of his family, he shook his head.

"She's gone," He said, feeling deep relief in his chest as he walked back. "No pulse."

Elsa sighed too, and Kristoff's face changed from a frown to one of relief, and Anna's face actually broke into a smile, though it sickened her slightly that she had so little regard for Ayla's life. That being said, when she thought about what she'd done to her daughter in the past, she didn't feel nearly so bad.

"Let's get back to the castle." She said, sullenly, sparing a second glance at the sorceress' still body. "We can get a team to come out here then and cremate her body."

The group nodded in agreement, and, after Elsa froze her body for good measure, they began to head back to the castle, quiet and contemplative, thinking about the day they'd had, still shaken from everything that had gone on.

Later that day, when a team of men returned to get rid of her body, there was no body left to destroy; the only evidence that she'd ever been there was a large puddle of water, and the shape of a body pressed into the mud.

* * *

**Now that I'm posting weekly, I'm planning on trying to make the chapters longer for you guys, which will be nice. You'll have more time to read and appreciate each update (and hopefully more time to leave a quick review *cheeky grin*), so hopefully this will give us all a nice, relaxing last book... not that the story itself will be very relaxed, I doubt, but it'll make my writing it less stressful and rushed. Fingers crossed the quality will also improve :D**

**If you have any suggestions for this book, please leave them in a review - I take each one into account, so who knows - you could make the story your own, in theory!**

**The next chapter will hopefully be posted by Sunday - it'll just be a short one to accompany this chapter and to explain what happened, so I'd feel bad if I made you wait a week for less than 1,000 words.**

**So, any ideas what happened to Ayla before you get the answers in the next chapter?**

**Arrivederci!**

**-SG**


	4. Chapter 4 - dedicated to thorinii

_**The group nodded in agreement, and, after Elsa froze her body for good measure, they began to head back to the castle, quiet and contemplative, thinking about the day they'd had, still shaken from everything that had gone on.**_

_**Later that day, when a team of men returned to get rid of her body, there was no body left to destroy; the only evidence that she'd ever been there was a large puddle of water, and the shape of a body pressed into the mud.**_

* * *

"It's done," Ayla said, as her legs gave way and she collapsed onto the floor in fatigue, her magic reserves drained, leaving her whole body feeling like a block of lead. She winced slightly as a wave of pain cascaded upon her mind, the start of a promisingly horrific headache - an unmistakeable symptom of how much she'd exerted herself - and she sighed in frustration when she realised she'd have to endure this for at least five minutes, until she regained her strength to use magic to heal her head. Trying to block out the sharp daggers which were making her mind ache, she smiled gratefully as her son helped her get onto her feet, which her consort soon came over to help with too, and together the two males of different generations helped her to the sofa. Hans, of course, took most of her weight; the youngest Prince's body was too small to support a fully grown woman.

"Ugh...'' Ayla groaned, as she rubbed her forehead tenderly, as if it would make the nagging pain go away, but it helped none at all. Deciding that it would do no good, however, to just brood over her discomfort, she sighed and sat up a little straighter- she was never one to show weakness. Lesser people did that, not her.

Noticing that Hans was beginning to get impatient waiting, she began to explain what she'd done, but not before she made sure to send Seth out - and she watched him leave until he closed the door, so that he couldn't just sneak back in camouflaged.

"It was a simple enough plan, really - with a few more taxing bits of magic in between. The people of Arendelle were having a race today, an old tradition which, it would seem, Queen Elsa decided to bring back to celebrate this new year, so it wasn't hard to get noticed. I made an illusion of myself half-way around the track, so that I could launch a surprise attack on the racers who, if my plan worked, would have hurried back to warn the people of my presence, including the royals. Of course, then, Elsa and Anna would have come to find me, and from there, I would have had a small fight with them."

Hans frowned as he listened to his consort's short speech, and then held up his hand, interrupting her. "Wait a second - you seem to be implying that everything didn't go to plan?"

Ayla shook her head, but was smiling at the same time. "It went better than I'd thought, actually." She admitted, "It turns out that both Prince Kristoff and Odd were actually in the race - not only were they there when I showed myself, but then the Queen and Princess turned up too, so I had the whole group of them present to witness things. Then, lo-and-behold, who should race around the corner but young Princess Mia, as well? The look on the child's face when she saw me... she was absolutely terrified, and it felt good that I could get back at her slightly for being such a brat when she was here."

Hans chuckled slightly, looking pleased with how things had turned out, as he nodded for Ayla to continue. She paused for a second as a wave of dizziness came over her, and then she recovered with a groan.

"Ugh, I need to get my magic levels back up..." She groaned, but shook off the discomfort, trying her best to block it out. "Anyway, it was easy at the start - I played around with the young Princess for a bit, popping the illusion of myself in-front of her as she tried to run away, which made her panic, but it was certainly amusing, working her up. After a little while, though, she just hid behind her Mother, so I couldn't tease her any more."

Hans frowned at this, a little annoyed that his consort couldn't torment the brat of a child more, but he didn't say anything and let her continue.

"So, then, Queen Elsa actually shot a beam of ice at me - clearly she didn't appreciate my presence there - and I dodged that, which was easy, considering it was just all just an illusion. She then continued to send another at me, and I threw back a coloured beam of light, which created a mini-explosion when they collided. The force knocked everyone else present out, and I made the illusion act as if it had been killed by the blast, which would highlight the weakness of our kingdom... or at least, how we want them to see us. If I was so powerless, and frankly - no offence - I'm probably the strongest person in the Southern Isles, then surely everyone else would be in an even more sorry state, right?"

Hans nodded. "That _does_ make sense, I guess." He admitted, "They'd think we were being over-confident when we were actually helpless, at least in their eyes, and so in the future, they'll overlook anything we do."

Ayla looked pleased that she'd gotten her point across. "Exactly," She agreed, "But next came the reason why I'm out of magic at the moment - I had to solidify the illusion when the Queen's consort came over, to see whether I was alive, if I had a pulse. It took it out of me, to say the least, but I managed it; I made my copy a real body, but didn't give it a pulse, to fool them all." She grinned at her achievemnt, although the pounding in her head made it feel much less satisfying. "Anyway, he reported me dead, and Elsa froze my body for good measure, then they left to get everyone home in case there was more danger on the way, or something. But that's not all; there's something I didn't mention when I first told you the plan."

Ayla grinned as she saw Hans' face frown again, a mixture of uncertainty and distrust in his eyes as he waited for his Consort to elaborate, but when she did reply, she didn't disappoint.

"When they left, I figured that I'd gone to too much effort just to make them think us weak, especially now that they consider me dead. So then, I had a stroke of genius, if I say so myself; I returned the body back into being an illusion, and then... I hardly know how to describe it, and gosh, it was horribly difficult to pull off, but I managed it. I changed the illusion into a gas - more like fire, actually - and then melted the ice around it. After that, it was easy. I just let it, I don't know, get absorbed by the earth, so that now, the soil of Arendelle will constantly have a part of me, in a way, hidden in it. I'll be able to get inside information on their Kingdom, like a spy, which we can then use to our advantage."

Ayala looked at Hans with pride shining in her eyes, as she grinned at her achievement, but then noticed his confused expression, for he was still lost about what she'd actually done, and she sighed, right when her mind decided to begin aching again. "Look- don't worry about trying to understand what I did, just accept that I did it. And now, we have a spy behind enemy lines which can't even be detected!" She rubbed the back of her nack in frustration. "It has its limits, of course - I can't make out brilliantly anything that' seeing said, maybe only enough to get a gist of it, and it'll be exhausting to... Link to the spy, so to speak, but I do think it could give us valuable information."

In agreement, Hans nodded slowly. "Okay, then." He said, trying not to think too hard about what Ayla had tried to explain before, about how she'd achieved it. "Good work." He remained silent for a few seconds, and then stood up when he noticed how his consort was resting, with her eyes closed and her mouth parted, clearly in pain from the headache, which, he figured, was probably going to turn into a migraine soon, and her magic reserves didn't appear to be restoring themselves.

"I'll get someone to make you a cup of chamomile tea," He eventually said, and stood to find a maid or servant to fetch one for his consort, which she could drink whilst he attended a meeting which had been planned between himself and his brothers. Ayala nodded gratefully at his offer, though she hated to feel dependant, but the pain really had begun to make her feel queasy.

She cursed in her head silently as she tried to ignore the pain. Sometimes, she really hated using magic, when it caused her such discomfort, especially now; her love for Seth had made her magic stronger, to be sure, but it also made her recovery time longer. And she didn't appreciate that one bit.

* * *

**Okay, just about managed to get it published on Sunday :D yay! And now I'd better go to sleep or I'll die at school tomorrow...**

**One last thing, no, Ayla won't be able to create illusions to fight battles for her. To confuse enemies, perhaps, but to make a clone of herself to fight elsewhere with actual magic would be too much strain and kill her.**

**Yes, I can hear you begging me to make her do it so she dies, but no. She's too smart for that (and enjoys being alive and tormenting everyone else too much to commit suicide).**

**-SG**


	5. Chapter 5 - dedicated to blackkngth

_**"I'll get someone to make you a cup of chamomile tea," He eventually said, and stood to find a maid or servant to fetch one for his consort, which she could drink whilst he attended a meeting which had been planned between himself and his brothers. Ayla nodded gratefully at his offer, though she hated to feel dependant, but the pain really had begun to make her feel queasy.**_

_**She cursed in her head silently as she tried to ignore the pain. Sometimes, she really hated using magic, when it caused her such discomfort, especially now; her love for Seth had made her magic stronger, to be sure, but it also made her recovery time longer. And she didn't appreciate that one bit.**_

* * *

Elsa frowned as she studied the world map, frowning until she knew, without a doubt, that what she was seeing was true; the faint outline of a kingdom which had disappeared for five years. She gasped involuntarily, and then her blue eyes lost their previous gleam, as she recalled the last time the Southern Isles had been seen - the day that poor Dawn had gotten ill, just a few days before her untimely passing from the sickness. She'd always been so frail, so fragile, and her life had been so fleeting, exactly like the sunrise she had been named after; a beautiful child, who should have only risen, and not fallen, but alas, such is the way of the world. Even the sun can only last so long, before the moon comes up, or a cloud blocks it out.

Trying to shake off the thoughts, she sighed as she glanced back down at the map, and then realised that the other Kingdoms would want to now about the return too, if they didn't already. Hastily, she rushed over to her desk and picked up a few pieces of paper, reaching for her quill and dipping it into the ink. A tiny smiled graced her lips as she tried to picked up upon out the happy cries of her son, youngest niece and nephew as they played together out in the courtyard, no doubt chasing each-other around as they so often did, but she didn't need to look to know that Mia wasn't joining in.

She'd come around since Ayla had attacked, but she was very shaken up about the issue. The poor child had awoken with wide eyes, full of fear as she shook and sobbed, and when her Mother had foolishly approached from behind, she'd lashed out at her in fear, her magic flaring up as a beam of ice just missed causing damage. It had been a close call; Anna had acted quickly, pushing her hands out in-front of her, meaning that she could take in the magic, instead of being hurt by it. Still, Mia had only been more terrified that she'd nearly hurt her own Mother after that.

Elsa let out a breath, as her quill froze part way through writing a word, her hand shaking slightly as she recalled how she had hurt her sister at the age of eight. Her eyes closed as she attempted to regain control, and soon felt the cold retreating away, allowing her to calm down.

As she began to write again, blocking out the distracting squeals of the children outside, and the even more nagging concerns for her eldest niece's state of mind, her mind began to wander, to think about what could have caused the Southern Isles to come back; perhaps they had returned onto the map because Ayla had left to attack Arendelle, and perhaps that was why she had been so weak... Who knew? The disappearance was obviously done through magical means - she must have been exhausted and fatigued from creating a big enough spell to hide an entire kingdom for years.

Her mind wandered back to Grand Pabbie's warning about how poor Dawn's death hadn't been completely natural, how it had been somewhat influenced by wicked magic, and Elsa's eyes widened in shock as something registered in her brain - what if the day that her niece had fallen sick, the Sorceress had been here, in her kingdom! She felt her hands clench into a fist in anger, as a few large icicles suddenly jutted out from the sides of the room, and the quill in her grip quickly snapped in half. Her breathing grew heavy again, this time in anger, and she tried to calm herself, but couldn't quite manage it; her eyes grew wide as she suddenly lost control, her rage blocking out the love of her family.

The door opened quickly, shocking Elsa out of her thoughts, and making her eyes widen in fear that someone would see her weakness, and be terrified of her. She couldn't bear to have to hide away from people again, but as she thought about her current situation, she couldn't help but feel it was for the best. She was a freak, a monster, after all.

Odd stood in the doorway, at first looking just concerned, until he saw the scene in the room which made him recoil slightly in shock, which Elsa, in her distressed state, mistook for fear of her, and her eyes grew wide. She drew her hands closer to her chest, as if she could stop the magic from coming forward, but it was to no avail, of course; the air grew rapidly colder as the Queen panicked more, feeling so awful and ashamed of herself, almost like a child again. Some things would never change, after all - she'd never be accepting of being out of control.

"Woah, woah!" Odd cried out, as he began to make his way over, careful not to slip over on the increasingly icy floor. "What's wrong, Elsa?" His voice was laced with concern, and when his wife's pale face drained of the little colour left in her cheeks, he grew even more worried.

"I can't control it, Odd!" Elsa cried out in panic, "I was angry, and now I can't thaw the ice!" She winced as she watched a stalagmite suddenly spring forth from the ceiling, barely ten centimetres from where her husband was stood, and she gasped involuntarily. "Get out of here, Odd! It's not safe in here - let me get control of it!"

Odd spared a glance around the room, but to his credit only moved closer to Elsa, rather than further away. More ice began to spring up as he approached her, from her fear of hurting him ironically, but he kept going until he came to stand next to her, and gently, with palms experienced in caring for timid creatures, he took hold of her shaking hands and pushed them down from her chest slowly. He stroked his thumb across her soft skin soothingly, and he smiled at her reassuringly, holding her gaze with confidence shining in his bright green eyes.

Slowly, Elsa sighed as her breathing eased off to a slightly more normal rate, but she continued to shake in nervousness; in response, Odd was silent for a few seconds, and then began to speak.

"Come on, Elsa," He said in a quiet but assured voice, "You can control it, you know. Think of the love everyone holds for you; your sister gave herself up for you, and Freddie adores you, naturally. And I love you, too- just remember that. In fact, the whole Kingdom adores you as their Queen, a fair Queen, not just a selfish one like most are these days. A queen who looks out for her people, who loves her people, too."

Elsa didn't look convinced, but she felt herself calm down anyway, the soothing tone of Odd's voice almost like a drug, relieving her of her stresses. She closed her eyes and focused on the love those closest to her held, and she smiled slightly as she felt the temperature in the room increase - Odd gave a sigh of relief too, as his shivering, unnoticed by his distressed wife, stopped.

Though not completely thawed, Elsa smiled when she saw that most of the ice had gone, feeling s little better about herself, and she stood up slowly, before wrapping her arms around Odd's neck and burying her face in his chest. He placed his hand on the curve of her back in response and softly stroked, making her sigh from his comfort as she buried her body closer into his own, letting him hold her until she grew completely confident in her ability to thaw the ice again.

Five, perhaps even ten, minutes passed until Elsa finally let go of her husband, and then she looked up to him with questioning eyes.

"There's something you need to tell me, isn't there, Odd?" She whispered, feeling nervous again, but holding back her powers to stop them from flaring up again.

Odd nodded slowly, placing his hands on Elsa's shoulders to hold her steady. "Yes," He admitted, "It slipped my mind, though I don't know how. But... The team you sent out to incinerate the Sorceress' body couldn't... Locate her. They could only find the shape of a body in the mud, and a large puddle of water, as of something had melted."

Elsa gasped, but then her face hardened off. She couldn't let herself be so weak again.

"That monster has pushed the line," She snarled through gritted teeth, and even Odd was slightly fearful of this sudden fierceness. "Dawn's death will be her downfall, I swear." She turned to the window, and looked out with a new-found determination in her eyes. "We need to go to see the trolls, now; hurry! I won't let any more promising lives be spoiled for the sake of one woman's truly sickening schemes."

Elsa's voice was laced with confidence, the voice of a true Queen who could always find strength for the good of her people, but her thoughts were filled with doubts.

_I just wish it could be that easy._

* * *

**Just a quick comment I'd like to make, is that while Ayla (I guess she's technically Princess Ayla now, huh?) will have access to the goings-on within Arendelle, it'd be like a crackly telephone line; she'd be able to understand bits of it, but some things she wouldn't be able to make out, or would interpret wrong. **

**Secondly, I know many of you may be a bit confused as to how Ayla can make an entire kingdom disappear for years, but wouldn't be able to hide herself for much more than an hour or two (as stated in the last chapter) so I'll enlighten you a little - but not too much! Ayla will be revealing that later on!**

**Anyway, basically, while a kingdom is massive, and as such would take a lot of energy to hide - remember that Ayla actually passed out when she first disappeared the Southern Isles? - but only needs to be hidden once. One massive payment, if you'd like, and then it's over with. ****However, with a living, breathing creature, it would need constant 'updating', as living things move and breathe and are generally harder to tamper with. Hence why it needs loads more energy.**

**Next, I was disappointed last chapter. I know it was a shorter one, but I didn't even get a quarter of my normal reviews. I get that I've lost readers between the end of FP2.5 and FP3 - Hence why I need your reviews even more. Even if you've never reviewed before, I'd appreciate if you could. As I got so few reviews last chapter, along with increased stress from my GCSE Italian and Food Tech controlled assessments, this was a short chapter I'm afraid - I hope things get better this time?**

**And finally, before anyone says anything, no, I don't consider it bad that I should ask for reviews - I spend a lot of time on these updates which I could be using differently, but I do it:**

**1) Because I enjoy it**

**2) I enjoy hearing your feedback even more!**

**Please, more reviews make me more motivated, thus making each chapter longer and better! And frankly, it isn't hard to write a few little words over a whole week... I'm not saying you have to review, but I do feel a bit cheated when people don't. Remember, guests can review too!**

**If you have any questions, please ask - I'd be happy to answer!**

**See you tomorrow, anyway - my eyes are closing and the light from my iPad is hurting now... I think I should get to sleep.**

**\- SG**


	6. Chapter 6 - dedicated to OmegaMarker

_**Elsa gasped, but then her face hardened off. She couldn't let herself be so weak again.**_

_**"That monster has pushed the line," She snarled through gritted teeth, and even Odd was slightly fearful of this sudden fierceness. "Dawn's death will be her downfall, I swear." She turned to the window, and looked out with a new-found determination in her eyes. "We need to go to see the trolls, now; hurry! I won't let any more promising lives be spoiled for the sake of one woman's truly sickening schemes."**_

_**Elsa's voice was laced with confidence, the voice of a true Queen who could always find strength for the good of her people, but her thoughts were filled with doubts.**_

**I just wish it could be that easy.**

* * *

_*** Note! Very urgent message at the bottom of this chapter - this involved everyone, so please, please read it! ***_

Ayla smiled as she fiddled with her blonde hair, watching her son fade from view as he blended in with his surroundings. She closed her eyes and allowed him to move, to test how strong his powers were, and she felt incredibly proud when she opened them again, and was unable to see the boy. It was only when Seth sneezed that she could locate him, and even that was only because his magic wore off from the impact, which knocked his concentration.

"Well done, Kiddo," She said warmly as she ruffled her son's hair, feeling sickened at the same time that the pride behind her words didn't have to be forced. She winced inwardly when she thought at how soppy she was becoming, but tried to push it away as she hardened her exterior, trying not to appear overly-loving. Too much adoration could ruin a child, in her eyes. It was a fair enough point; Hans had had a troubled childhood, always being teased by his siblings, and now look where he was - on top of them all. She, herself, had not been all that pampered as a young girl by her own Mother with a heart of steel, and her brother, Karleif, was too self-important to even pay her any notice. He'd always been the spoilt one, and now look who had ended up better; herself, of course. The other two were dead, by Queen Elsa's hand.

It was crazy; when she'd first met Hans, she'd sworn that she wanted to join him to get revenge for her family's deaths, but frankly, she couldn't really care less about them. She just didn't want to be on the goody-two-shoes' side; she was too much of a free spirit to settle for that, not to mention she'd probably have not been trusted by the people of Arendelle for her who family were, considering they had tried to kill their ruler.

Her mind stopped its trail of thought when she heard her son's soft, quiet giggle of laughter from the praise, and she instantly snapped her hand away, her motherly affection finally wearing off - thank the Lord - as she became the strong, seasoned person which the rest of the world knew her as.

"Get back and try again, Seth. You need to work harder - if a sneeze can stop your powers, then you're too weak to even deserve them."

Seth's bright eyes, a gorgeous blend of green and blue which made them shine with curious innocence, lost the sparkle they'd developed, as the boy nodded slowly. His blonde hair fell over his face, shrouding him from his mother as he started to fade away, wanting to just curl up in a ball and cry. He never understood what he did wrong - why did the sorceress, the Mother who he never realised was his own, always criticise him so? She was so often like this; she'd praise him, then look disgusted at him just a few seconds later, and it made him feel so worthless, as if she couldn't work out whether he was worth attention or not.

Still, though, he figured he shouldn't be thinking of her that way. She and Prince Hans had gone to so much trouble to take him in when he'd been found as a baby - a story he was often reminded of - so what place did he have to question their generosity? He'd have died if it weren't for them, surely, so what did it matter if they weren't particularly adoring of him.

Still, it hurt.

Backing up, he concentrated again and shivered as he felt the strange sensation of his camouflage come over him, like water was running all over his body, and he closed his eyes so that they blended into the background too. He peeked them open slightly to see Ayla's expression, curious as to whether she looked as proud as she had before, but alas, she appeared jut as she had, and he sighed quietly; of course she wasn't, he should have known. Unless he could do something new which he'd never done before, she would pay no attention to him.

The boy's heart ached for some recognition, and he felt his concentration slip as he yearned for some love, but quickly regained his control, not wanting to let Ayla see him being so weak as to allow his emotions get the best of him. That was one of the lesson's he'd had hammered into him as a child; weakness was not to be accepted. Survival of the fittest, and all that, and what with the threat of being attacked by the cruel Queen Elsa of Arendelle now that his own kingdom was back on the map, the phrase had more meaning than ever.

The people of his enemy would not hesitate in an attack, that much he knew about them; they would spare none, not even a small boy such as himself, so if he wanted to survive the inevitable battle, he had to be in top form. Especially considering the fact that he'd be in the middle of the battle - though Hans and Ayla had said that it hurt them to even consider it, they would have to send him in to do undercover work when he got better control of his abilities. It was a small price to pay for the safety of an entire kingdom, but he was definitely terrified, as were his 'adopted' parents, or so they said. They didn't look all that pained at the suggestion - though Ayla was certainly more nervous about it than Hans - but that didn't mean anything. They were royalty, one born and one made, so they had to be strong and keep their emotions under control...

Right?

He winced as a small bolt of electricity, feeling like a rather strong electric shock, hit his body, never seeing the light blue bolt of light sent at him by Ayla as he had closed his eyes to keep . He let out a yelp, and let his camouflage fade away from the surprise and the pain; opening his blue-green eyes cautiously, his heart fell at the disapproving look his adoptive Mother was sending him.

"Why didn't you dodge!" She snapped at him, looking completely furious at him, and Seth whimpered slightly under her glare, which only intensified at his display of weakness. Though still shaken and scared, he quickly amended his stance, standing a little straighter to appear more confident, and Ayla's expression softened in the slightest, her scathing look simmering down to a less furious one.

"I couldn't see," Seth said quietly, not mumbling - for he'd had that habit broken at a young age. Ayla's glare then morphed into one of puzzlement, as she frowned at him.

"Why on earth couldn't you see?" She said, her tone harsh and full of annoyance. "Did you have your eyes closed or something else stupid like that?"

Seth tried to control the whimpers which were threatening to resurface as he nodded hesitantly, refusing to meet his Mother's cold blue eyes. Ayla regarded him scornfully, folding her arms in anger.

"You had your eyes closed!" Her voice was shrill as frustration overtook her, and Seth did back up a little bit. "Why would you close your eyes! If you were going undercover, then you could have been killed if anyone detected your presence!"

Seth tried to keep his voice steady as he attempted to answer Ayla, stuttering slightly in fear of her temper, for she was far from weak. "I... I can't camouflage my eyes." He said quietly. "You'd see me if I had my eyes open."

Ayla's expression softened when her son had a valid excuse, and she sighed. ''You'd better work on that, then." She said, and Seth's eyes widened in surprise at her sudden calmness. He'd expected a long rant about how he ought to be more careful, so her seeming lack of frustration - even if her words were still sharp and cutting - made him feel suddenly determined to succeed, and he clenched his fists in concentration.

The familiar, slightly unpleasant sensation of something cold trickling down his sides, as the camouflage began to take effect; when it was fully functional, he let out a grunt as he clenched his fists in concentration, keeping those bright blue-green eyes open as he tried to get the camouflage to spread to the orbs, the strain of trying to get them to change colour exhausting. He winced as he began to feel pain; first his palms and toes, then it spread to his chest and finally his face; he felt tears streaming down his cheeks as his eyes suddenly began to burn, and then let the camouflage fall when the pain became unbearable.

He collapsed on the floor, weakened, and something hot and sticky began to run down the sides of his face, alongside the droplets of woe, and he gasped in fear as he began to shake. He could hear Ayla's gasp as she rushed over quickly, kneeling down beside him, but when he looked up at her he couldn't make her out; all he could see was a hazy red image, which was blurred and un-interperatable.

"Help me, Mama!" He cried out in-between agonised sobs, and Ayla didn't dare correct him for calling her that in his current, panicked state. She tried to calm him down to help heal his wounds, but the child was thrashing about wildly in pain, and in the end, she had to resort to using magic to restrain him. He whined and moaned in pain all the while, but she couldn't be put off by this; her heart ached with the motherly need to comfort him, but she had to stay calm.

With shaking hands, feeling guilty that she'd pushed her own son so far that he hurt himself so badly, she placed them above his bloody eyes, pushing her magic out to heal him, to stop the bleeding, but it wasn't easy. It took at least ten, perhaps fifteen seconds for the red lifeblood to slow down in its flowing, let alone stop, and by the time that it had, Seth had broken free from the magical bonds holding him down and had been thrashing around madly, trying to escape from the pain.

Eventually, Seth's movements stilled as he finally slipped into unconsciousness, and Ayla was able to finish healing up the best she could; his eyes had stopped bleeding and she'd put most of her energy into them to stop them from being permanently damaged, but the rest of his body didn't fare so well. The strain from fighting against his bonds had broken his wrist and left him bruised and battered, and his breathing was shallow, but he was okay.

Feeling incredibly weak herself, she stood up and then scooped the limp boy into her arms, struggling to not collapse on her shaking legs as she tried to carry the child as well. She struggled over to the door to the small lounge in which the pair had been working and, with great effort, opened the door slowly, creeping out into the halls in fatigue.

Slowly, she began to make her way down the corridor to the stairs, and she felt her heart drop from her chest when she saw the climb before her. Groaning, she forced her legs to keep going, feeling ridiculously fatigued from what shouldn't have been all that much work - but then again, she'd had to go to a lot of effort to both keep Seth still and try and heal him at the same time, and she'd been scared on top of all of that, so was it that surprising?

Rejecting many offers of help from passing servants and maids as she slaved her way through the corridors to Seth's bedroom, she dropped the boy down on his bed in relief as he legs finally gave way, and she watched her son laying there, his breathing slow and shallow, but still there.

As she watched him, she felt her heart burn with grief at the thought that she'd done this to him; she'd pushed him. She could have killed him, for all she knew.

And her motherly instinct kicked in once again, as she began to sob over the son who she both loved and loathed, eventually falling asleep as she sat on the floor, her head resting upon her boy's mattress.

* * *

**First, in response to Turkish Delight (a guest review - I'm sure Mia would love your name, by the way!) no, I'm afraid you won't be able to see the kids as teenagers in this story - at least I very much doubt it. That'd be five years away for Mia still, so it'd be a bit unrealistic, unless the story went on for thousands of chapters xD** **Who knows, though - if the story stays semi-popular through to the end, then maybe I'll do a couple of future chapters...**

**Second, I was still a little disappointed last chapter. I got just a couple of reviews more than before, which ****wasn't what I was hoping for, but better.**

**However, I'll put it bluntly - I need reviews more than ever right now. I know, I know, I always say this, but hear me out; I have mock exams coming up in two weeks time, and won't have time to write during the week. This leaves me two options; update next friday, and then wait two weeks between the update, which I doubt will be all that popular, or get two chapters written next week to have one available to post during my exams.**

**Before, this would have been manageable - when I was getting more reviews, I could write two chapters a week, but now that I'm getting less than half what I did before, it's hard to even write one. **

**So it's up to you guys - either don't review, and have to wait two weeks for the chapter to be updated, or review and I'll get it updated in time. Personally, I'd prefer the first option - I'm not asking much, even a sentence will do. If I could get a short comment from each reviewer, then hell, I'd probably kill off Ayla in an instant and make everyone happy... Well, okay, maybe not, but I'd be able to write so much easier! Who knows... I could even get the week after's one done!**

**So, please review? Here's an idea to help: what did you think of a more loving-Ayla? Bet you never saw her crying over her son, eh?**

**See you in a review!**

**-SG**


	7. Chapter 7 - dedicated to KLime (guest)

_**Rejecting many offers of help from passing servants and maids as she slaved her way through the corridors to Seth's bedroom, she dropped the boy down on his bed in relief as he legs finally gave way, and she watched her son laying there, his breathing slow and shallow, but still there.**_

_**As she watched him, she felt her heart burn with grief at the thought that she'd done this to him; she'd pushed him. She could have killed him, for all she knew.**_

_**And her motherly instinct kicked in once again, as she began to sob over the son who she both loved and loathed, eventually falling asleep as she sat on the floor, her head resting upon her boy's mattress.**_

* * *

"Papa!" Freddie's voice was loud and clear as he banged his head on his desk, looking frustrated, his expression fixed in a scowl of confusion and annoyance. "Papa, help me do this work!"

Odd chuckled in amusement at his son, wondering how on earth the two could be so different; growing up, he'd have given everything he had (which, granted, wasn't all that much) to go to school, but it wasn't to be, for only the rich went to school during the reign of King Agdar and his wife, Queen Idun. Elsa was, however, working to change that now; after the 'everlasting winter' fiasco, she had immediately set about trying to win favour with her people, and one of the new things she had established was the public schooling. Though still in early days, thirteen years after the project's conception, there were now a few completed establishments scattered around the kingdom, and now doubt there would be more in years to come.

Still, when he thought about it, it was only natural that his son - and youngest niece and nephew - would be opposed to their tutoring, because it wasn't their choice to attend lessons. It was compulsory for them, so of course they weren't going to share his enthusiasm about it - aside from Mia, of course, who adored learning, perhaps because it was such a quiet thing to do. The poor child always preferred relaxed activities than rough-and-tumble ones, so it made sense.

"Hold up there, Freddie," He said, with an amused grin plastered upon his face. He made his way over quickly to help the boy out, knowing that the child's current level would probably be low enough for him to offer aid. He could solve a problem relating to logic any day, for his common-sense really was second to none, and he could think practically when such skills were needed. However, when it came to mathematical or scientific knowledge, he really was hopeless; as a child, he'd never learnt past simple addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. He could work out some more complex things, such as basic algebraic problems, because really, that fell into the category of logic; however, questions requiring more knowledge of how maths worked were too much of a stretch for him to achieve.

It wasn't that he was unintelligent, and he'd certainly _tried_ to learn, but it hadn't gone well; he simply couldn't seem to gather how things worked, but he was talented in other, more practical areas.

"It's these questions," Freddie said grumpily when Odd reached him, as he frowned at his work again, trying to make sense of the maths which was leaving him feeling muddled. "They're so confusing!" He gestured to the paper, his quill hovering over the page, still, and a drop of ink fell from the nib onto the sheet below. It landed with a splash on the paper, leaving a rather large blotch amidst the neat writing. "Oops," He muttered quietly, making him feel even more fed up with the task at hand.

"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad!" Odd teased with a grin, as he looked down at the homework, and let out a sigh when he noticed it was quite simple; Freddie'd already completed the first half of the homework - multiplication revision - and now he had to practice with basic fractions, a skill which Odd knew he could do. Fractions were a common part of everyday life, so he'd learned the basics on his own, as a boy. His Mother had only taught him the very first rules before he'd run away, but he'd been able to work out how it worked over the years.

"Hey, that's not all that difficult, Freddie. What's the matter?" He pulled over a chair quickly, and sat down to help his son, pulling out a piece of paper from a draw under the desk to demonstrate how to do it.

Fredrik shrugged slightly in response to his father's question, lounging back in his chair as he pointed to the first question. "I don't get it." He said, simply. "I mean, Sir explained to me and Mia how to do it, but I didn't understand it, and Mi' said she won't explain it to me."

Odd frowned in puzzlement. "She won't explain to you?" He repeated, unsure, and Fredrik shook his head, huffing.

"No, she said that I should have understood it the first time round." He said in frustration, "But I don't see why she wouldn't explain it to me! She loves helping me with my work normally!"

Odd thought for a moment about the boy's statement, then an idea struck him. "Why didn't you understand it, then, Freddie?" He said, his eyes glinting with a knowing, amused gleam. Fredrik folded his arms and shrugged slightly before replying.

"Well, I guess I forgot to listen." He said, his voice emotionless, conveying his lack of concern. "But... I stayed awake through this lesson. I fell asleep through last one- Sir's voice really is boring. He just goes on, and on, and onnn..." Freddie let his voice trail off, emphasising his point as he rolled his eyes, and his father chuckled.

"That's not the attitude to have," He scolded in mock seriousness, but he couldn't stay angry at the boy for being so slack in his lessons, when he realised that he _did_ still do well in all - well, most - of the tests his tutor set him and Mia, so he obviously did catch up after the lesson. "Come on, let's see what we can do, hmm? Your Mother will be out of her meeting soon, anyway, and then we'll be heading out to the mountains for lunch."

Freddie frowned. "Why d'we need to go all the way up there?" He moaned, and Odd rolled his eyes in amusement.

"A bit of fresh, mountain air never did anyone any harm." He replied gently, then took the quill out of his son's hands, noting the now-quite-large blotch of ink on the paper, which had grown in size as they'd talked. Freddie groaned when he noticed it.

"Argh, Mia's gonna kill me!" He cried, frowning. "It's really quite scary when the room freezes up."

"True, true." Odd nodded in agreement, "Your Mother's the same - but they won't actually hurt you, unless they're terrified, so just don't scare them, basically." His eyes shone with humour. "Why on earth would Mia want to kill you, anyway?"

Fredrik gestured absently to the spilled ink. "I'm not bothered about being completely neat, but she always gets annoyed when my work's not perfect." He frowned, and Odd grinned as a thought occurred to him. Taking the quill, he dipped it in the spilled ink, and dragged the liquid outwards, making a swirled pattern around the edge. He smiled as he worked for a few seconds, until an intricate image had been created from the mess.

Freddie grinned at the work. "Thanks, Papa!" He said, looking pleased. He'd have to re-write the work that had been hidden, but at the very least it wasn't quite so ugly now; perhaps it was unfortunate, but there was, at least, a small bright side to it.

Odd nodded at his son, by way of saying 'you're welcome', and then leaned over the work again.

"Come on then, you," He said, grinning. "Let's get this homework done, or we'll run out of time before lunch, and you've got tutor again at four."

Fredrik groaned, and buried his head in his hands. "Boo-hoo."

* * *

"Oh, come on, come on, come on, Mi!" Kari whined as she sat in the sledge with her twin and Freddie, and Seier, who was curled up next to them. "Just do it already!"

Mia frowned at her younger sister severely, her gaze easily reading 'no'. "Have you asked Auntie Elsa?" She said sternly, frustrated with the younger girl's actions.

"No..." Kari said sullenly, pouting her lips and folding her arms. "But you can do it! Make me an ice pony! Please! Please! Please! Auntie Elsa can do it, so you can do it too!"

Mia groaned, as she used her right leg to gently push Lysse further away from the sledge, and her ever-frustrating sister. "No, Kari." She said without emotion, her tone flat and empty, which clearly conveyed her determined decision to not give in. "Mama and Papa have only just bought you a foal- you're not big enough to go riding on a full grown horse yet."

"You had Lysse when you were two, Mi!" She retorted grumpily, her loud cries drawing the attention of her mother and father, who watched in amusement. Anna slowed Misty down a little so that the sled could catch up, and smiled sweetly at her youngest.

"Ah, but then we could trust Mia then more than we trust you. You'll go off bombi.g everywhere; your sister, at least, has some self control when she's riding. Besides, Papa and I were inexperienced back then- how were we to know that Mi was too young, hmm?"

Kari pouted again in frustration, her ever-present temper bubbling to the surface again. "Fine." She snapped, and turned away from both her sister and Mother, instead opting to just look out of the back of the sledge. Freddie and Thomas laughed at her antics, grinning at each other, amused.

"Oh, come on, Kari!" Thomas teased, "You have a yearling back at home- just because you haven't started training him yet, doesn't mean you can take it out on Mia!"

"I can't ride him yet, Tom!" She snarled, "He's too young! Papa said so himself!"

"You can always teach him to pull a small cart though." Thomas pointed out helpfully, and Kari huffed, as she tried to think of something to reply with. Seier whined at the two's constant arguing, burying his head in his paws, before it shot back up with sudden interest, his ears flicking about, then laying flat back as a very low, unheard growl escaped his lips.

Mia, growing bored of listening, simply urged Lysse to trot up to the others in front, much preferring not to argue, but it got her thinking. She'd been riding Lysse since she was just a calf, but then Mia had been tiny then too, so she could easily hold her weight. Reindeer were much stockier and more sturdy than the average horse, after all, even the typical Fjords that the rest of her family owned.

Lost in her thoughts, Mia didn't notice the small group creeping up behind her, and no one noticed Seier's growls and tense posture, either, for he was sat behind the twins and Freddie. Lysse made no reaction, unable to hear over Kari and Thomas' bickering. However, a sudden yell of surprise and pain quickly drew everyone's attention, and the group spun, wide eyed, to see an arrow lodged in Freddie's shoulder, blood staining his white shirt. He writhed as he tried to remove it, letting out an even more blood-curdling scream as he did.

The blood dripped down onto the edge of the seat, first just a single drop, landing with a splash, and then another, another, another, until the red liquid stained a pattern of swirls and splashes onto the wood below. A macabre artistic piece.

"Freddie!" Elsa cried in absolute terror as the boy crumpled to the floor of the sledge, where Thomas and Kari were now curled up, whimpering in fear., with Seier stood over them protectively. The horses began to jump about nervously, and Mia backed up close to her father, sure he'd protect her from anyone out there. She could hear her heart pounding, and with each cry of pain from Freddie, she felt herself being drawn back into her memories, as she recalled the sound of her own screams, echoing around the cave. It wasn't long before she completely lost herself, and she passed out, Lysse catching her before she hit the ground, luckily, and then curling up around her protectively when she lay the child down upon the still snowy floor, even though it was now the start of February. Kristoff and Sven remained with them, while Anna hurried to her sister's side.

It didn't take long for the group to stop the blood flow from the wound, as Elsa wrapped it tightly in an icy bandage, creating a small flurry to keep it intact, as Freddie finally passed out from the pain, finally being given the smallest of relief. It was then that it finally occurred to the group that he'd been shot, and that there was someone else out here.

Seier's growls could now be heard easily as everyone grew silent, and he let out a very guttural bark of warning, not quite able to replicate the sounds that dogs made, but close. A dark chuckle soon resounded through the air.

"Well, hello there." A silkily rough voice rang out harshly across the wind, and Odd winced outwardly, his eyes widening. "It's been long enough; I was wondering when I would get to meet my delightful Grandson..." The chuckle was deeper this time, even harsher. "I guess shooting him in the shoulder wasn't the best introduction, but what can I say? He'll certainly remember what I did to him, at least."

Odd snarled in anger. The man let out a pleased laugh.

"What's wrong, boy?" He said, his deceptively cheerful tone contrasting with the sharpness of the words he spoke. "Are you not happy to see me once again?"

Odd's harsh reply was anything but hard to say. "Not in the slightest, Arne." He spat out, "You are no Father of mine."

Arne seemed extremely please with this little sentence from his son. "Oh, I couldn't agree more, boy." He said coldly, his icy words like daggers to the heart. "I'm not your Father, I am your master. And you will obey me once more."

* * *

**First, in response to a guest review about whether Odd ever got Storm Chaser back, no, he didn't, but you'll actually find out what happened to him next chapter, so hold on.**

**Second, before anyone asks why Freddie and Mia both have lessons with the same tutor, instead of Mia being at a higher level, I figured it just made more sense; Mia would have picked up on things quicker, because she actually enjoys learning, so she's a good companion for Freddie to have. It would be a bit of a depressing ****lesson, after all, if there was only one student and one teacher!**

**Third, dun dun dun, Arne's back! (For those of you who don't remember, Arne is Odd's father, which you probably gathered). We'll be seeing a bit more of him next chapter!**

**Regarding updates, I didn't get enough reviews last chapter to give me the motivation to write two chapters, just the once, so... There may not be an update next Friday. Keep an eye out for a chapter, but if there isn't one, then it means I didn't get time to write it in the end.**

**Please leave a review - if I'm going to be updating next Friday, I'm going to need the extra support.**

**Here's a challenge for you to think about ; what is going to happen regarding Arne andOdd next chapter? What do you want to see? Leave your comments!**

**Thanks guys, I love you all!**

**-SG**


	8. Chapter 8 - dedicated to blackkngth

_**Odd snarled in anger. The man let out a pleased laugh.**_

_**"What's wrong, boy?" He said, his deceptively cheerful tone contrasting with the sharpness of the words he spoke. "Are you not happy to see me once again?"**_

_**Odd's harsh reply was anything but hard to say. "Not in the slightest, Arne." He spat out, "You are no Father of mine."**_

_**Arne seemed extremely please with this little sentence from his son. "Oh, I couldn't agree more, boy." He said coldly, his icy words like daggers to the heart. "I'm not your Father, I am your master. And you will obey me once more."**_

* * *

Elsa reached down to pick up her son, cradling him protectively in her arms as she breathed quickly in fear, calming down slightly when she realised that the child was still breathing in his unconscious state, and then a peculiar, completely out-of-the-blue sense of confidence came over her, mixing with her unease in a strange blend of emotion; she stood up straighter and glared at Arne, her blue eyes glinting the same shade of silver as the blade of a knife, icy and deadly. She felt her heart rate increase as she felt her power flare up inside of her, and she readied herself for any more attempts of attack from the psychotic man before her; her heart ached at the prospect of hurting anyone, but the doubt was gone from her head instantly, the second she noticed the simply evil ambitions in him. The way his eyes shone with pleasure, the relaxed stance he now stood with, all suggested his absolute thrill at bringing about pain.

"Don't come any closer." Elsa said loudly, her voice strong, but threatening to waver from fear at the same time. It wasn't that she was scared of the man before her, really - though he was undoubtedly not weak, she felt she could hold her own against him - but she wasn't so sure whether the children could stay safe on their own. They had Seier, certainly, but if anything happened to him they'd be completely defenceless. That being said, Kari did pack a powerful punch for her age, and in the right places, it could do some damage.

"Scared, Your Highness?" Arne said, the sarcasm dripping slowly from his voice. The derisive tone made Elsa wince slightly, her heart plummeting into the depths of her chest, as she allowed old insecurities take over. The sound of his voice mocking her hung around in her ears, replaying over and over again in the half-second she was stunned for; they made her feel negligible, as if no one needed her around- as if she were disposable.

But then she felt Odd's hand slip into hers, and as he roughly locked their fingers together, she could almost feel his desire to attack his Father; his want to rush over to him, claw and kick and get revenge for all the times he'd abused Ida, or Heidi and her tiny daughter, and as revenge for his own pains, too.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Anna's nervous glances her way, assessing the situation, looking frightful of what could happen, and she felt the need rise in her own chest to protect her own; though not weak, her sister couldn't take on a whole group of men by herself.

And even as Kristoff came her way, laying Mia down next to her brother and sister for Seier to look after, she could see the way he looked at her concernedly. His large, circular brown eyes ere pleading with her to look after herself, both for her own sake, for she was almost like a sister to him now, but also for the sake of Anna, who'd undoubtedly crumble without her.

She clenched her free fist in anger that she'd allowed Arne to get to her, and she stood a little taller.

"Don't be a fool, Arne." She said, her voice flat but filled with her disdain, just as his words had been before. She watched him with piercing, perceptive eyes, charting every breath that he took. The man before her was slightly taken aback by the comment, but he made no move to heed her request; instead, he lifted his foot slowly, as if he were teasing her, and then took a step forward. One, two, three steps, until he was just a few metres away. He revealed pearly white fangs as he pulled his lips back in a grin of self-confidence, as he stalked her, coming closer and closer with his pack behind him, looking just as fearless and arrogant as their alpha.

"Get back!" She snarled at him as he disobeyed her, and with her free hand, she sent a bright beam of her powers towards the man, who simply laughed as it smashed against the ground, a sheet of ice jutting from the floor straight up towards him. His malicious grin grew even wider as he let out a second, even deeper laugh, it's genuinely amused sound sending shivers of unease down the spines of anyone close enough to hear.

Seier's teeth were bared as he growled threateningly, his hackles raised as he stood tall over Kari and Thomas protectively; and Mia too, when Kristoff came over to lay her with her brother and sister, until she came around. His white fangs glinted alongside the equally white snow, stained in spots with splashes of blood, and as the wolf pulled back his upper lip, revealing gum, his grey ears, tinted with black at the edges, flattened to the back on his head. He lifted his foot from the bottom of the sledge, very slightly, preparing to move. It was second nature for a wolf to attack a threat; it was only his human upbringing which made him hold back, await the command which he was itching to adhere to.

Elsa's face hardened as her target dodged her attack, not believing that he'd managed it when the strike had been so quick. She sent a second shot of power his way, the ice jutting up from both sides of him and he glanced both ways for a second before rushing forward, just a moment before the ice would have impaled his blackened, hate-plagued heart.

As the ice thawed, Arne clucked his tongue in mocking disapproval of her, saying "Tut, tut," as he slunk backwards, retreating into the shadows once more, hiding him from view partially. His body could be made out, but it was quickly impossibly to discern where his men had now gone to. Elsa reached out to her sister and pulled her closer, and Kristoff wrapped his arms around his Princess protectively too when he noticed that he'd lost track of Arne's pack of men. Odd stepped closer to his wife and son also, standing right by her side to have the ability to protect her from both an attack by Arne, and from ambush behind.

Arne watched with interest as his son moved closer to his wife, his eyes burning with rage clearly, even in the sudden darkness which had fallen across the forests, and he felt himself grinning again.

"You tell me not to be foolish, my dear Queen." He said slowly, choosing his words carefully to turn her own words upon her. "But I do believe that it is, in fact, you who has been the foolish one. After all, you are a royal; surely it would be sensible to bring along guards on your excursions?" He chuckled darkly for surely the umpteenth time that afternoon, and his eyes locked with his son's in a lethal stare, challenging him, mocking him.

Odd's eyes widened as he heard a slight whistling behind him; he turned to look, and let out a breath as he felt something solid connect with the side of his head, and his body crumpled to the floor from the impact. Elsa let out a cry of surprise as she felt her husband's hand suddenly slip out of hers, and then her legs gave way as she felt a similar projectile - a simple stone - hit her forehead. She had just time to spin around as she fell so as to land on her back and not crush Fredrik's small body under her own weight, before she was completely unconscious as well.

Anna let out a muffled cry of terror, and she desperately reached out for her terrified son and daughter, quickly scooping them up into her arms and cradling them close, while Mia, still in a faint, was quickly gathered up by her Father. She frantically tried to find a way to distract the men attacking them, still concealed in shadows at least four or five metres away, but to no avail; she rushed instinctively into Kristoff's arms as a large bola was released, but the attacker hadn't been aiming right at her. The projectile entangled itself around the pair's legs, leaving them also collapsed on the floor in a heap. Thomas whimpered quietly in fear while Kari made no noise, but her face was scrunched up as she willed herself to not react.

Two high pitched bleats of pain and horror erupted from the opposite side of the cart, as poor Lysse and Sven were dragged by multiple large, muscular men towards the rest of the group, ropes around their necks tightly, cutting in and sure to rub painfully. Deafening cries of alarm then echoed around the area from the three remaining horses as they, too, were lassoed and ruthlessly hauled to the front of the sledge.

Seier growled deeply as he watched the treatment of Anna and hers, the closest thing he'd ever had to a Mother- ever since she killed his natural dam as a puppy, now eight years ago. With his ears pressed flatter than should even be possible, he leaped out of the ledge and down onto the snow below, tearing towards the men in the shadows.

The haunting sound of a gunshot reverberated around the clearing; a howl of great pain followed soon after, as Seier tenderly lifted his paw off of the ground.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The blood stained the snowy covering just as Freddie's had marked the wood, and in his moment of shock and distraction, he felt himself be lifted from the ground.

"Seier!" Anna's shrill cry for her best animal-friend was almost as haunting as the gunshot, and the wolf let out a loud whine of 'I'm sorry' in response, but he wasn't quite done fighting; even as his wound was covered, to stem the blood flow - an act neither Kristoff nor Anna could understand the purpose of - he continued to writhe and snap. His efforts paid off eventually when Arne came forwards to tie his mouth shut, and he succeeded in getting the smallest bit of revenge. His jaw clamped down upon the man's flesh and he pulled back, tearing away enough skin and muscle to reveal bone in places of Arne's arm.

The man shrieked at the pain, and was quick to finish tying up the rope around his mouth, before throwing him to the ground roughly, saddenned when he hadn't broken bone.

"Time to get out of here," He said soon after, through gritted teeth,his voice higher-pitched than usual from the pain. Anna and Kristoff had, by now, been blindfolded, as had the conscious children, and Elsa and Odd were still unconscious.

"Move out."

* * *

**Okay, so exams weren't quite as bad as I expected, and I couldn't bear to lose any more readers by waiting two weeks, so I had to write another chapter. This one wasn't quite as long as the other chapters, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway!**

**Anyway, I'd really like a few more reviews, so for this chapter, I'm reintroducing an old favourite- a challenge!**

**Using the following letters, come up with four words:**

**P A I N**

**For example:**

**P owner**

**A nger**

**I ce**

**N emises**

**But try to choose your own! I'll try to include as many as I can in the next chapter - but I'll only include suggestions if you give a chapter comment too! A sentence will do, but if you want to participate in the challenge, "Nice chapter" isn't quite enough.**

**Hopefully we'll get a lot of entrants - and remember, the faster you review, the more likely it is that I will put your words into the chapter!**

**\- (A really really really tired) SG**


	9. Chapter 9 - dedicated to Pabulover123

_**The man shrieked at the pain, and was quick to finish tying up the rope around his mouth, before throwing him to the ground roughly, saddenned when he hadn't broken bone.**_

_**"Time to get out of here," He said soon after, through gritted teeth,his voice higher-pitched than usual from the pain. Anna and Kristoff had, by now, been blindfolded, as had the conscious children, and Elsa and Odd were still unconscious.**_

_**"Move out."**_

* * *

Elsa moaned quietly as her eyes fluttered open heavily, her head pounding uncomfortably, feeling like her skin had been torn open and then roughly pushed back together. She sat up slowly, wincing at the way her body protested at moving, and she tried to ignore the way her very soul seemed to ache, as her wrists moaned and complained in discomfort; her head swam as she pushed herself up completely, and she drew in deep breaths of the murky, stuffy air in the room. It tickled and scratched her throat as she breathed it in, and she coughed a few times from thee irritation.

"Elsa!" A quiet, seemingly relieved whisper came from across the room, and the Queen winced at how loud it sounded, making her ears ring out, but the sound was reassuring; her sister was alive, and seemingly okay.

Anna coughed in the darkness, and Elsa frowned. Maybe not quite so well - she was here, after all.

As she looked around in the darkness, trying to locate her sister, she took a note of her surroundings. The room was all but pitch black, only illuminated slightly by a small sliver of light which leaked in over the top of the door, through small crack above the thick wood; the limited glow allowed Elsa to assess the room she was in further, to an extent. The walls were made of dirt, as was the ceiling, which gave her reason to believe they were currently underground; on the sides of the chamber, thick - but old - wooden planks covered the majority of the space, and from the damp smell they gave off, they were evidently rotted. As she regained the ability of sight, her eyes adjusting to the near-total darkness, she figured that the room couldn't be any more than five metres, by five metres. This realisation of the room's size made her feel nervous, gave her a sense of claustrophobia.

She looked down, and noticed, for the first time, that the floor was covered in a fairly thick layer of straw, and she felt a little reassured that it would help to keep her family warm; though it didn't bother her, she could feel the way the stagnant air nipped at her skin, taking away her heat. If the straw hadn't been there, they'd surely have frozen to death by now.

Next to her, she could see Odd's still unconscious form, and in the other corner, her sister, along with Kristoff and the children, were all huddled together, except for Mia, who was sat slightly to the side, rocking back and forth, humming a haunted melody under her breath very, very quietly. Unable to get her legs to co-operate and find the strength to stand, Elsa slowly crawled over to them, feeling quite pathetic at doing so, but unable to move any other way.

"Anna!" She whispered in relief, as she reached her sister and enveloped her in a massive hug in relief that she seemed okay, at least physically, but she winced at the pressure on her wrists when she did so, and withdrew. In her sister's arms, she could see her son laying there, writhing in pain as moans escaped his lips, and the sound was haunting, ripping her heart into shreds of guilt that she hadn't been there to help him.

"Shush, shush, Freddie," She said gently, as she reached out her hand to stroke the boy's hair away from his face, but then pulled back quickly when she saw a glove there. She frowned, and moved her hand into the then beam of light - something she instantlwy wished she hadn't done. Both of her wrists were swollen and bloody, and the gloves had been stitched onto her skin ruthlessly, no doubt causing the pain from earlier, which she had then ignored.

Trying not to think too much about it, she reached out for her son again, and pulled him into her lap, refusing to let the horrid stinging of her hands stop her from trying to reassure her son, who would be in much, much worse pain than she. Slowly rocking him in her lap, as she had done when he was a baby, his whines quietened slightly at his Mother's touch, but he didn't fall asleep, did not get the respite Elsa had hoped would be given to him.

"What happened?" She whispered to Anna and Kristoff slowly, unable to find strength just yet to talk with any more volume. As she softly brushed the hair away from Freddie's face, Anna tried to respond, though her voice was shaking as she talked about what had happened.

"I don't really know..." She said quietly, and tried to think how to formulate a reply. "They haven't said much to us; after you and Odd passed out, they blindfolded me and Kristoff, and the children, and brought us here. I'm not sure about Sven, or Lysse, or Seier and the horses, either - unless I'm mistaken, I think they're outside. But... I have a feeling I know where we are; do you remember when you were trapped in the mountain by Karleif, when Mia was born?"

Elsa nodded sullenly, and Anna could just about see the response in the dimly lit cell. "Well, unless I'm much mistaken, we stayed in this house at one point..." Anna frowned as she thought over the memories, her expression turning slightly more somber. "Mind you, the man of the house _did_ try to kill us." She laughed very quietly, descending into a short coughing fit soon afterwards. She continued once her throat had cleared itself of the harsh debris which had settled there. "Eh. It's always the ones who you least expect to be the sick people, isn't it?"

Kristoff, sat next to her, nudged her side, but his face was void of any happiness, as he longed to know the fate of his best friend. "You forget where we are currently sat, and whose fault it is that we're here." His whispered, scratchy words held a sarcastic tone, and though it was hard to see, he'd folded his arms and raised his eyebrows at his own comment.

"Fair point," Anna's weak voice replied, "Arne did seem like a psychopath, right from the start, so I guess that proved me wrong."

Elsa felt a slight smile tug at the edges of her lips at that comment, but it quickly fell soon after as the heavy mood hanging in the air crashed over her head again, washing her moment of amusement away in a tidal wave of depression. "What else happened?" She asked slowly, trying not to breathe in too much of the noxious air; no more than was absolutely necessary. As it was, her lungs were already experiencing a slight burning sensation.

Anna opened her mouth to speak, but only coughed again from the foul air, and she looked to her husband pleadingly, begging him to take over; he quickly took up the role of answering for her. "We don't really know what's going on." He said in his dry voice, the words uncharacteristically rough sounding. Though he worked with ice, a substance which all would admit was dangerously beautiful, he was possibly the gentlest man one could ever meet. Threaten his family, though, and he could be a force of nature even more powerful than a magic-wielder, a trait he shared with Odd. He was dangerous for his strength and power; Odd was perhaps even more so for his quick wit and sharpness .

"We were dragged down here, and then locked in," He continued slowly, but his words were completely lifeless; he paused as Elsa coughed quietly, before he carried on again. "They didn't say much to us - other than the odd 'shut up' here and there, but they did say one thing which was interesting." His voice was growing strained now, the musty air scratching his throat too much, and he frowned. Elsa shook her head quickly to get him to stop speaking, not wanting him to completely lose his voice, making her head swim as she did so.

A quiet scuffling came as Mia crawled forwards, and Elsa felt a deep sense of horror when she saw that her niece's hands were just as bloody and swollen as her own, a pair of gloves held in place. Even in the darkness, you could see the way her eyes were red and puffy- whether she was crying from pain, or from fear, or for the loss of her friend, it was unknown, but the sight made Elsa's heart ache.

"They said," the child whispered, her voice shaking slightly at being cooped up in a prison again. "That they would break us. That they need our blood." Her cough rang through the still air, and she then bowed her head, scuttled backwards to resume rocking back and forth, as she had been doing before.

"Blood..." Elsa whispered, frowning as her own memories resurfaced, but she didn't say anything more as Freddie had begun to moan again in her arms, and she tried to cool his wound with her magic, hoping some of the cold could radiate through the gloves and calm him.

No such luck.

Elsa's head spun as she heard rustling straw behind her, and noticed that Odd had begun to awaken; she let out a sigh of relief that he was okay, and, having to resist the urge to crawl over to him - for the matter was that Freddie needed her more than her husband did - she settled for scooting a little closer, trying to smile at him, though this probably went unnoticed in the gloomy room. He let out a moan as he sat up straighter, and glanced around blankly for a few seconds until he regained his thoughts.

"Where are we?" He said in a dull voice, choking suddenly on the stale, musty air. After his coughing fit cleared, he turned to Elsa for a reply, coming closer to try and hear her better - as it was, his ears were rather out-of-tune at the moment, not quite working and only giving him an unclear, fuzzy understanding of what was being said.

Elsa, still a little unclear, replied, "I'm not entirely sure," in a quiet voice, and then she turned to Anna, praying that she'd answer for her, which she did.

"We're at Eva and Lars' old house- do you remember them?" A short cough resonated around the room, this time from Kari, and Anna paused, her voice not loud enough to be heard over the noise. "They had an underground house, and Lars tried to kill me, Kristoff and Mia in the night."

In the blackness, Odd's eyes appeared to glow in anger as he clenched his fists. "Yes, I remember." He said quietly, trying not to let old angers resurface. His lips, however, we're pursed together tightly, and Elsa had to place her hand gently on his shoulder to calm him. He quickly noticed that instead of skin, he felt material, but his still-foggy mind didn't question it.

Elsa's whispered words helped to soothe him, though their tone was completely flat and dull, neither reassuring or concerning. However, the news she delivered, which took a few seconds to fully register in Odd's mind, was anything but calming, and he quickly tensed up again when the meaning of the words was realised. "In short," She began, "They've captured us, and are now planning to use us, I would wager." She cleared her throat slightly as the bleak air began to clog up her airways, before she finished. "They want to break us - and for you, Arne seems honest in his desire to be your master."

Odd didn't say anything, but his silence was enough to get his message across- he didn't have anything to say to it. In the seconds of absolute quiet, slightly disturbed only by the children's sobs and Freddie's hushed moans, a loud howl of pain rang out from elsewhere. Anna gasped as she scampered over to the fence, rattling at the iron bars pointlessly, poor Seier's agonised cries drawing her to him. Of course, her efforts were futile - after a few seconds, the howls quietened, and All could only hope that Seier had stopped being abused, and not that alternative. But of course, the alternative could also be a blessing.

Odd tried to ignore the haunting sounds of the wolf, and instead, he looked down at his son in Elsa's arms, and frowned in a way which could make even a grown man cower, the determination in his eyes obvious - if only there was enough light to truly see it.

"We need to get out," He said slowly, his voice heavy and choked. "Freddie's arm will get infected easily in conditions like this - it's not healthy, and if he gets sick, he'll only get worse." He looked around the room, from the heavy wooden door - guarded by an additional iron gate - all around the walls, to the ceiling, but there was little of any value.

"We could dig out?" Anna suggested feebly, remaining slumped by the fences, not moving back to the group. But they all knew her suggestion was a lot cause; Odd shook his head slowly, making his mind pound in protest. "No," He said, "It'd be too obvious, a massive hole in the wall. It's not quick enough, either- a tunnel six, maybe seven metres deep would be very hard to dig."

The room was silent for a few seconds, and then Elsa piped up, whispering especially quietly as Freddie had, finally, fallen into a fitful sleep, "So, what should we do then?" She felt utterly hopeless as her husband took her son away from her, not knowing what on earth to do in this situation, without any magic to help her and her family escape. Odd, instead of answering her straight away, was busy laying Freddie in a wallow of straw which he'd made, before completely covering his body again in the material to try and keep him warmer. He'd left his injured arm out, though, and slightly elevated, to stop some of the blood loss even more, and to try to promote healing; the chances were, however, that the wound would be getting infected as early as right now.

"I don't know." Those fateful three words tugged at his heart as he said them, making him feel like he'd failed his family - but he couldn't let that happen.

He couldn't.

* * *

Ayla grinned as she moved her Queen to F3. "Checkmate," She said, in a smug tone, and Hans frowns, looking frustrated that he'd lost s game of chess to his consort - he was the strategist, not her.

As he opened his mouth to say something, Aula suddemly held up her hand. Er lips were a fine line for a few seconds, but then stretched into a grin.

"From my... Source in Arendelle," She began confidently, "It would seem that Queen Elsa is out of the way. We can begin phase two now."

Hans nodded quickly, and then rushed out of the room.

Oh, Arendelle wouldn't know what had hit them.

* * *

**Hey guys,**

**First, sorry this wasn't quite updated on Friday, it's actually half past one o'clock on Saturday now (and I'm bloody exhausted, so i'll make this short).**

**Second, I forgot to add the words from last chapter, I'm sorry - they'll be in next week's update, promise!**

**Thirdly, I got less reviews than I expected last chapter - please please please review. Don't have the attitude "I'm sure someone else will", because everyone seems to be like that at the moment. :"( Just please, and itty bitty "I liked it" or "What a lousd of rubbish" is appreciated!**

**Happy valentines day!**

**Lots of love,**

**-(An exhausted) SG**


	10. Chapter 10 - dedicated to thorinii

_**As he opened his mouth to say something, Ayla suddenly held up her hand. Her lips were a fine line for a few seconds, but then stretched into a grin.**_

_**"From my... Source in Arendelle," She began confidently, "It would seem that Queen Elsa is out of the way. We can begin phase two now."**_

_**Hans nodded quickly, and then rushed out of the room.**_

_**Oh, Arendelle wouldn't know wha**__**t had hit them.**_

* * *

"Here, give it here," Elsa murmured quietly, as she reached her hand out towards her sister, who was currently sitting in the darkness, groaning in frustration. She was frowning at the project she was holding in her hands, shifting around slightly to try and look at it in the sliver of light from above the door, but the poor illumination did little to help her figure out what had gone wrong. Reluctantly, annoyed that she couldn't work it out on her own, Anna handed over her craft.

"Look," Elsa said softly, though her voice was slightly strained from her sore throat, irritated from breathing in the dank air. "You went wrong here. You missed out the fourth straw, so that's why it looks strange."

Moving her work into the sliver of light, Anna frowned at it, assessing it's current appearance; now that it had been fixed, it was quite a fair attempt at making a straw hat, considering that neither sister had ever attempted to make such a complex item. Elsa, however, had had more experience with the craft, having made a few patterns as a child, but always flat, never actually a 3D item, which was understandably more difficult. Anna, on the other hand, hadn't had so much practice, only ever plaiting her hair - or that of others - so she wasn't so confident at working with more than three strands.

"It's just so difficult in this darkness!" Anna growled out grumpily, as she tried to pick up with her work again, frowning as she tried to plait the straws. "I can hardly see a thing!" With a little huff of **indignation**, she threw down her project, leaning back against the soft, rotten wood which made up the walls of the cell, her arms crossed over her chest grumpily.

Sparing a glance towards her son quickly, to make sure Anna's louder-than-normal words hadn't awoken him from his already fitful sleep - which, at least, gave him some form of relief from his pain, and hopefully a chance to heal faster - and felt a small amount of relief when he still slept on, as did Thomas, who had fallen asleep about an hour ago. She sighed slightly as she watched her sister, and then placed her own craft down, for it had, admittedly, gotten rather dull by now, after what must have been at least two or three hours of doing it. There was simply nothing else to do.

Watching silently next to her Mother, Mia sat stiffly in the same position as she had been earlier, her knees drawn up to her chest, her eyes large and shining with fear. Though she'd been so young at the time, she could still remember the fuzzy memories of the beatings, the pain still there, not as brutal, but still strong enough to strike fear into her heart. Her **innocence** had been destroyed back then; she wouldn't misjudge these people, and they couldn't scare her either.

When her Mother stopped doing anything, in the end just sighing and giving in, closing her eyes for lack of anything better to do, Mia moved her gaze so that her eyes settled upon her younger sister; little Kari was also trying to learn how to plait, but on her own hair, not on pieces of straw. Similarly to Anna, she was looking utterly infuriated - though the darkness concealed some of her emotions - and Mia leaned over slowly to help her. Her body was stiff and reluctant to move, as if her limbs had simply given up, and had accepted the horrific truth that pain would be coming soon, no matter what, so what point was there in worrying? She couldn't do anything to stop it, so it was surely more productive to just enjoy - or rather, not stress out during - the periods of relief.

"Like this," She whispered, and placed her sore hands upon her sister's, guiding her to help her understand what to do, and then she drew back again. She winced slightly as she knocked her bloodied wrist, but again, it didn't make much of a difference to her; her body felt numb to pain in her terror, which had now morphed into a strangely more frightening sense of acceptance which blocked out all other thoughts. She didn't feel the fear anymore; didn't feel the **agony;** didn't feel the anger. She just felt the numbness.

She sighed as she tried to use her magic, scrunching up her eyes in concentration, but it was a poor attempt, and all she succeeded in doing was making the gloves feel slightly colder to the touch. In theory, she could quite easily pull off the restraints - no doubt she'd probably not notice the searing pain which would come as she ripped her skin - but she didn't even feel enough emotion to try it.

Numb.

Beside her, Kari groaned again as the plait she'd been making broke, and Mia sighed slightly as she went to help her out. Still, though, perhaps it was good that she was so hopeless at the moment with the skill; after all, she'd be trapped in here for quite a while, so she'd have plenty of time to **persevere** and perfect it. Unless, of course, they were all killed, which was probably fairly likely too. Honestly, she couldn't see why they'd want to keep them, so to her, it seemed likely that they were just there to be slaughtered.

It sickened her slightly that she could think such thoughts with barely a flicker of emotion, but her brain didn't seem to accept the knowledge, blocking it out, protecting her from feeling the pain and horror which she'd already experienced in her short life. It left her feeling so very, very calm, a feeling which terrified her, for she'd not been so relaxed in months; it was ironic that in what should be one of the most agitating circumstances, she was so fine.

Still, she was grateful that she didn't have to go through dread which she'd felt in the caves - she'd quite happily remain living in this desensitised existence, floating around in a state of peaceful numbness, rather than having to fear constantly.

Slowly, her movements akin to that of one who hadn't slept in days, slow and without much enthusiasm, Mia turned her head to look over to her Father and Uncle, who were sitting against the opposite wall together. They were talking in low voices, though it was easy to overhear them considering they were only about two metres away from her. The two were trying to make something, however though it wasn't too hard to hear their conversation, the light wasn't shining upon them, so she couldn't make out what it was they were actually trying to do, the blackness too thick to properly see through.

A loud bang resounded around the room suddenly, and the occupants jumped in shock, except for little Mia, who barely flinched, looking up sharply but reacting no more than that. Fredrik and Thomas shot awake from their light, disturbed **nightmare**-plagued sleep quickly, and soon after a loud moan sounded as the older prince's arm ached again, causing him great pain as he hit it on the soft walls. Elsa quickly reached out for him and pulled him closer to her body protectively, and his younger cousin crawled slowly, tiredly over to his Mother, his movements clumsy from his exhausted state. Odd and Kristoff tensed up immediately, and both shuffled across to position themselves in front of their wives and children, eyes sharp as they tried to protect them from danger.

Light flooded into the room, making Mia's eyes burn and she was forced to squint to see through the bright, unnatural glow of the flames flickering in the next room. Their warm, safe gleam was tempting to each of the prisoners, captivating them with a primal need for warmth, even in the case of the two who were resistant to the cold, and Anna found herself reaching out for it, as if she could reach it if she stretched far enough.

A man stepped into the room, his body casting a gloomy shadow across the cell again as he blocked out the flames' glow. Two others stepped up behind him, both as bulky, if not more-so, than he was, with tree trunks for arms, and tanks for bodies, strong and cold and unbreakable. Deadly. His eyes scanned the prisoners, and his lips spread in a smug grin which suggested that he knew of his dominance over the people before him.

The heavy wooden door closed with a muffled thud as one of the guards shut it, the light which had leaked in around their bodies now gone, the depressing sliver the only traces left. A horrid, harsh metallic sound came as the iron gate was slowly opened, and then the man stepped into the cell, his eyes glinting, visible even through the darkness.

"You," He said in a rough, deep voice which was not affected by the murky air in the room, which was, by now, considerably worse with the introduction of a children's toilet area, in the corner furthest away from the group. Mia and the adults had been able to manage, but sadly, poor Freddie, Thomas and Kari, at ages six and five, had not been able to last so long, and had had no choice but to go; thank Lord the straw soaked up at least some of the putrid smell. The guard scrunched up his nose as he got a whiff of the pungent stink, but carried on as he raised his hand, and pointed at Anna. "Come with me."

At first, Anna simply stared disbelievingly at the man, **paralysed** and not moving, trapped in a moment of time, until the guard shouted loudly and she began to stand. Kristoff stood up with her, stepping backwards to try to protect her from this threat, but even he, muscly as he was, was no match for the three strong men before him. Still, he didn't back down.

As Anna began to take a step forward, Elsa suddenly reacted without thinking; reaching up, she grabbed the hem of her sister's dress and pulled her back down rather forcibly, pushing Fredrik her way as she made her own attempt to stand, her legs shaking from not being used for hours, and from thirst and hunger. Kristoff remained standing as his sister-in-law got up, refusing to leave her alone, and now Odd rose up too, wishing he could stop her. He tried taking her hand, tried to pull her back to him, but to no avail; she roughly shook his hand away, not wanting to be gentle for fear it would break her resolve, and she stepped up to the guard, who was glaring daggers at her.

"I will go with you," She said in a monotonous voice, trying not to let her weak legs shake, for doing so could be interpreted as being fearful. The guard didn't look at all pleased with her offer.

"I asked for the girl-" He began, but Elsa took a step towards him quickly, flexing her fingers as if she were about to use magic, though she knew she couldn't.

"I will go." She repeated, her voice still as strong and firm as it had been a minute ago, but she could feel her nerve breaking under the man's watchful stare. He looked over to his companions questioningly, and they just grunted in affirmation, something which made Elsa feel a little better, for they sounded no more intelligent than cavemen. The man before her shrugged, and roughly took hold of her wrist, a painful sign of his reluctant agreement with her proposal that left her crying out quickly in pain, and she had to bite back a second yell when she saw her husband trying to reach her. As the metal gate was shut again with the torturous sound which left everyone's ears ringing, she turned back to her family and gave them one last, reassuring smile, hoping they'd see it in the light that now flooded the room as the wooden down was opened, and then she was roughly thrown out into the main chamber, and the door was slammed shut again.

She remained on the floor for a few seconds, and in that time, she knew that Odd had broken, and from the loud, **persistent** rattles coming from inside the room, he was trying to tear down the iron fence. She felt slightly flattered at the affirmation of his love for her - and the rest of her family's love for her, too - but wished he would stop. From her treatment even now, any trouble was sure to result in a beating, or worse.

In the room next to the one she'd just been in, Elsa could hear quiet whines of pain, and muffled bleats and whinnies of the animals, and she longed to go and see to them. Poor Seier must have been in agony after his foot injury, and she wished she could help him, but she also knew she couldn't.

"Move, Witch!" The guard behind her snarled as she stopped to stare, and Elsa felt herself kicked roughly forward into the room opposite hers, where the guards from before quickly locked her in. She frowned in panic as she realised that she was completely trapped, alone, with these men now circling her like hawks, waiting for her to keel over and die. Nervously, feeling **insecure**, she sat down stiffly on a small sofa which must have belonged to Eva before her home was taken over, and her sharp blue eyes scanned the room for any tools which could aid in an escape.

Of course, there was nothing.

"Now, Witch," The guard spat out, as his own eyes bored deep into hers. "How much do you know about what is going on?"

Elsa felt herself shiver involuntarily under his cruel gaze, and knew that he'd have picked up on the fact, and that he'd be finding great pleasure that he'd made her react. She kicked herself mentally, and vowed not to do it again. "Nothing," She spat at him, knowing that her disrespectfulness towards him would surely only rile him up, but she wouldn't let herself be submissive either. She sat up straighter, trying to look proud and strong, while in truth she felt neither thing.

"Well, allow me to enlighten you." The guard drawled out. "You are here, because we need your blood, and if you think, I'm sure you'll understand what, exactly, we need it for." Elsa kept her composure cool, though she could feel her palms beginning to sweat. "Oh, yes, yes, I can see it in your eyes. You know exactly where this is going, don't you?"

Elsa glared as she nodded stiffly, quickly speaking before the guard could speak again. "My blood is of no use to you." She snapped back, "So you must have some anterior motive driving you on."

The guard nodded, seemingly impressed with her perceptiveness. "Right you are, Queenie." He replied, "Your blood is of no use to us. Your offspring, however..." He let his voice trail enough, and Elsa's heart plummeted through her chest like a sinking rock. The guard savoured her horrified expression for a minute, before continuing. "Your expression, dear Queen, is priceless, but worry not; we shan't be taking your son, nor your niece and nephew either. We need bargaining chips, you see, and they're perfect. Their lives, for your complacency."

Elsa tried to keep her voice steady as she replied, but a small slip did manage to come out of her mouth. "A-And the animals? Our husbands?"

The guard shrugged. "Bargaining chips, again," He commented, "But they can do work too; you'll have to go back and tell them this. They'll be summoned to go out hunting, or gathering firewood, or something, and they'll have no choice to return, because we'll kill you off, one by one, if they don't."

_Such a foolproof plan_, Elsa thought savagely, annoyed that people so incapable of love could still appreciate what people would do for it. It was then, as she thought about love, and the love she held for her family, that something struck her. "And my sister amd nieces? What are their roles?" She clenched her jaw as she awaited the inevitable response, hoping the earth would just swallow her up so she didn't have to face the truth she'd now picked up on.

"Breeding stock, of course." The man replied, a sadistic grin on his face. "But don't worry; we won't breed little Mia or Kari until they're old enough to birth a child. We're not entirely heartless."

Elsa's face was a mask of horror. "So what are we, sheep now? You're going to breed us like sheep, then slaughter our children like lambs for the dinner table!"

The guard put on a show of surprise. "Why, of course not." He said in mockery of her own horror, but he suddenly grew serious again at Elsa's disapproving look. "Okay, yes, you're basically very-valuable sheep, so quit your bleating and just be quiet." He frowned as he looked towards the warm fire crackling in a fireplace. "You'll tell your family this, remember, and you'll also tell them this; once a day, a guard will come to collect you, one at a time, to go outside to relieve yourself. If a single one of you runs away, another will die. If they return with help, everyone dies. Got it?"

Elsa nodded stiffly at this new news, feeling weak at the threat. "If your little brats need to go in the meantime, we've given you a bucket. Be grateful, or it'll go again." He frowned, thinking. "Now, there was one more thing, I'm sure, if I could just remember..." He said slowly, and then stood up. "Oh, yes, how silly of me to have forgotten!" His voice was a play on sweet innocence, and it only served to make him sound even more deadly. Elsa felt her palms grow even more sweaty inside the gloves, and she strained to get her magic to work past the fabric, but the effort was excruciating; she saw a single, lonely snowflake float down from the ceiling, just as her legs and arms were roughly pinned down by the two brutes who had been guarding the door.

"Do you want to know what I forgot, Queen Elsa?" He asked, and she shook her head in fear, terrified at being so trapped. "Well, I'd like to tell you. I forgot to give you and your family a warning, didn't I? Can't have you getting any ideas."

It came before she was even ready; a searing, mind-blowing pain on her shoulder blade, burning the skin, leaving her writhing and screaming in absolute agony. A read-hot steel shape was roughly pushed down upon her poor back, and as she fought with all her might, the pain only got worse. She was given a second's respite when the metal was reheated, in which she could feel her bubbling skin tearing and breaking, and she screamed again even before the metal was re-applied. Her should was ablaze with fiery agony, and her nerves were shot as she struggled to get free, her already raw throat only making her hurt more as the cries tore from her lips in audible waves of torture.

Even after the steel was removed, Elsa continued to writhe and scream and fight, her mind overcome by the pain, instinct kicking in and telling her to attack back. Her eyes were wild with terror, a truly primal fear shining in them, a need to survive.

The guards came to deal with her quickly after, picking her up kicking and screaming, dragging her along the dirt back to the room, where she was roughly shoved inside. She let out a cry of fury as the pain grew even greater, and then she collapsed on the straw, suddenly too weak to fight, ending up a sobbing mess on the thin straw floor.

* * *

**A very intense chapter, I'm sorry for posting late - mind you, I expect you all hate me for doing this anyway, so either way I'm in the dog-house, so to speak.**

**Ahaa, it's funny - when I was young and delusional a few years ago, I was foolish enough to hope Disney might take inspiration from my story for a second Frozen - Then I look at how much darker this series has progressively gotten as it went on, and... Yeah. I don't think it's really suitable for younger frozen audiences anymore. **

**Pah well - I'm still quite proud, and I hope you guys still enjoy it too!**

**With special thanks to:**

**Pabulover123**

**Klime (guest)**

**WildVirus (guest)**

**OmegaMarker**

**Summer loving snowman**

**thorinii**

**I couldn't have written this chapter without your support guys, I've head a hectic half term (50+ animals take a while to look after) so I needed the kind words I'm your reviews.**

**I'd love to see some more reviewers next chapter, so hey, here's a question:**

**Using the hot steel was a method of branding Elsa, to both humiliate and torture her. What shape / word do you think the mark should be?**

**(And help would be great, because I can't decide)**

**I love you all, so please don't kill me for this!**

**-SG**


	11. Chapter 11- dedicated to Ratchet McCloud

_**Even after the steel was removed, Elsa continued to writhe and scream and fight, her mind overcome by the pain, instinct kicking in and telling her to attack back. Her eyes were wild with terror, a truly primal fear shining in them, a need to survive.**_

_**The guards came to deal with her quickly after, picking her up kicking and screaming, dragging her along the dirt back to the room, where she was roughly shoved inside. She let out a cry of fury as the pain grew even greater, and then she collapsed on the straw, suddenly too weak to fight, ending up a sobbing mess on the thin straw floor.**_

* * *

"Elsa!" Odd's relieved cry was loud in the small room, though it was barely more than a whisper, as he rushed over to help his poor wife, who was still writhing in agony. Anna and Kristoff came closer too, although the children stayed behind, watching fearfully, except for Mia who simply wore a look of understanding and deep sorrow on her face. Nothing was truly registering in her brain, but it was possibly better that way.

Elsa moaned quietly as she thrashed about still wildly on the floor, completely out of control, her thoughts taken over by a primitive need to escape from the danger. As her family grew closer, warily, careful to avoid her flailing limbs, they could quickly tell what had happened from the faint smell of cooked meat; Anna gasped and began to sob along with her sister, while Kristoff remained absolutely horrified, and Odd bared his teeth, his hands clenched in rage.

It was at least half an hour before anyone could even get to Elsa once she'd finally began to calm down, the pain still torturous, but she'd at least stopped fighting. Odd was the first to approach her, gently placing his hands under her shoulders and lifting her up into a sitting position, to which she let out a yelp of pain as he accidentally brushed against her now red-raw skin, and he quickly backed up a little, in case he scared her any more, because he accepted that she'd obviously be jumpy after the ordeal. His heart ached, though, at now being able to comfort her any.

Anna came over slowly and she whispered quietly to her, gently. "Come on, Elsa," she said in a soft voice, "Come this way, so that we can see what's wrong." She offered her sister a hand, and helped guide her over to the sliver of light which crept in over the top of the door. She paused her there, and then she gasped even louder at what she saw. Kristoff and Odd came over too, and both were sickened that anyone could have done this to her.

"What is it?" Elsa whispered slowly, before coughing quietly. Kristoff shook his head, signifying that he had no clue, and Odd just muttered, "It looks like symbols, or something." Anna, however, frowned, and then seemed to notice something.

"Not symbols - they look like old runes," She said in a raspy voice, but her face was held in a frown. "I don't actually know-" She coughed for a second, before continuing. "Know how to read runes, though - Papa didn't see the need to teach me as a kid." She cleared her throat after speaking so much, the rough air attacking her throat, and she frowned as she tried to get the soreness to heal.

"That's because he... taught me. Describe them... please?" Elsa whispered nervously, with shaking hands and a quiet voice laced with pain as she spoke. The three adults with her looked at each other in concern, unwilling to cause her any emotional hurt to go with the physical agony of the burn, but Odd eventually gave in when his wife looked at him hopefully; though he couldn't understand how knowing what it said would ease her mind, he finally gave in, hoping that the knowledge would soothe her, because he knew how much not understanding could eat away at someone.

"The first, it's... it's sort of like a mix between a H and an N." He said slowly, coughing as the air ravaged his own throat - and thinking savagely that they'd probably end up wearing the skin of their throats raw from all the pressure. After he'd finished clearing his throat, Elsa nodded slowly, showing that she understood as she whispered that it was, indeed, the letter 'H'.

Odd looked over to Anna and Kristoff next, hoping they'd take over while he gave his own throat a rest, and the latter took over, for he hadn't been subject to the horrid air as of yet.

"The next one looks like an M," he said in a scratchy voice, though he didn't need to cough yet, luckily. Elsa nodded, and waited for him to continue. "And the next one looks like a C, made of two straight lines."

Anna quickly cut in here, pointing out that it was actually the same as a 'greater than' mathematical sign, before she finished off, saying that the last symbol was like an S, made of three straight lines.

"Thank you," Elsa whispered as she thought about what the others had said, and then her heart fell when she finished the translation. She let her head drop down slightly, as she hung it in shame and refused to make a sound.

"Elsa..." Anna whispered fearfully, not sure whether she wanted to really know what it said. "Please, speak to us?"

There was a pause before Elsa could find the words and the courage to speak. "It's a mockery of me, teasing." She said slowly, with even more pained words. "The runes are a disguise- they are hiding the truth. It's basically saying that no matter how things _seem,_ the truth is ... though the runes seem artistic and nice, but their meaning isn't... isn't so nice." She took a breath, and then let it out quickly, as another tear leaked from the corner of her eye. "It's relating to my magic. Even if people accept it, it doesn't hide the fact that it's still evil."

Anna shook her head in frustration. "Elsa, you know as well as I that you aren't even remotely evil." She said firmly. "What do the runes say?"

Elsa shook her head, the truth of what hid in the symbols hurting her, but the words slipped out of her mouth anyway. "Heks," She whispered in her Norwegian tongue. She repeated a second later, slightly louder, shaking more and more as she believed it more and more. "_Witch_."

Odd frowned more at those words, shaking his head in frustration, as he banged it against the soft wooden wall behind him in anger. His fists clenched together tightly as he let out a low growl of annoyance, before Elsa gently touched her hand to his to calm him down, before quickly jerking away.

"It's fine, Odd." She whispered painfully, as she looked away towards the door of the cell, so that she couldn't see any of her family. "It's true; I'm dangerous. I'm a monster. Always have been."

Odd huffed. "It's no good if you let them get to you, Elsa," He said quickly, coughing once before continuing. "You're not a monster, and you _never_ have been. Even when you froze Arendelle, you weren't a monster; you were just naïve because your parents hadn't helped you learn to control your powers."

Elsa opened her mouth to complain, but this time, Kristoff cut her off. "There's no point trying to argue that you are, Elsa." He said slowly. "There are two people on either side of me who-" A cough, before he continued. "Who have absolutely crazy stubborn streaks - Odd not quite so much, but still - and they know you're not dangerous. And so do I, or I wouldn't let Anna sit so close to you."

The said princess huffed quietly in annoyance that her husband would control her so much, even if it was for her safety, but then she realised she should say something too. "Elsa, your powers are amazing, and you know it! Besides, how can they be all that dangerous, when you've struck me twice and both times I've come out unscathed?"

"I nearly killed you, Anna. Twice." She whispered quietly, and her gloves began to grow cold from her magic, though no snow or ice erupted around the room. Anna frowned, and then reached out, slapping her sister's cheek scoldingly, but not hard enough to be painful, more of a shock than anything, for the poor Queen was undoubtedly in enough agony as it was with her shoulder.

"Oh, stop it, Elsa." The Princess snapped, suddenly getting annoyed, not in a harsh voice, but not as sweet and gentle as before. "Stop shifting into your old mindset with every. Single. Tiny. Critique! You're not dangerous, and you never were - we all just didn't understand. It was _my_ fault, our parents' fault, even the Kingdom's fault, but not yours; our parents locked you away, I was the one that pushed you at your coronation, the Duke declared you to be a Monster, and our people just accepted it." She coughed loudly after her long rant, and her little fit didn't end for almost ten, maybe fifteen seconds. When it did, her voice was weaker, but they still held some of the firmness of before. "Your magic is beautiful, Elsa, and you're in control now, so stop being so ridiculous! Hmm?"

Elsa frowned at her sister's words, shocked at her sudden outburst. She didn't say anything in response, and Anna decided to try a different tactic.

"What about Mia? What about my daughter?" She demanded in a scratchy voice, "Is _she_ dangerous? Is _she_ a monster?"

Elsa's eyes widened in shock, as she stuttered nervously, "No, no, of course not-" in a broken voice. Anna grinned triumphantly.

"But you said it yourself, Elsa, when she was born - she'll be stronger than you some day. She probably is already, so surely if you're a Monster, then so is she?" Elsa felt nervous as she tried to think of a way to respond, and in the back of the small room, Mia's eyes widened as she whimpered, her previous numbness wearing off as her own Mother seeming criticised her. Anna felt her heart ache when she heard, but she hoped that she'd be able to make her see that she didn't actually mean it after the conversation; right now, she just had to get her sister to see sense again.

"Mia never froze her Kingdom, though." Elsa replied unsurely, and Kristoff was the first to offer a response to her meek argument.

"But then, Mia wasn't locked away for years, so she never had the chance to grow truly terrified of her powers." He said in a gentle, though scratchy, voice.

"Not to mention you managed to thaw an entire Kingdom in seconds, if what Anna told me was correct, and no one was hurt." Odd pointed out as well, and Kristoff nodded.

"Except Hans." The older Princess pointed out, and Odd chuckled.

"Except Hans, and let's face it, no one cares about him." He amended his original statement.

Elsa smiled weakly at the comment, finally beginning to calm down again at her family's support. However, she frowned as her shoulder began to twinge more than a second ago, and her eyes shut tightly in pain as a fresh wave of burning agony overtook her body, a moan escaping her lips at the additional torture. Anna was quickly by her side again, holding her hand gently as she tried to calm her down, but Odd stayed where he was, frowning in both concern and thought. His mind wandered to what Anna had said about Mia being quite possibly stronger than Elsa, and his emerald eyes sparkled lightly through the darkness as he got an idea.

"Mia?" He called in a soft, though slightly rough, voice, and the young princess approached slowly, looking at him quietly.

"Yes, Uncle?" She asked in her small voice, and Odd softly pulled her closer to him, rubbing her back gently to try and calm her down, mistaking her silence for nerves, but she was still feeling the numb sense of acceptance she had before.

"Do you reckon you can try to use your powers for me, Sweetie?" He said gently, and the request did succeed in getting a little surprised and uncertain reaction out of her. Still though, she nodded slowly, as she scrunched up her face in concentration and tried to bring force her magic, visualising gentle snow falling gently from the ceiling, but when that failed, she tried to focus on creating a raging snowstorm in the room, but still to no avail. She gasped after perhaps twenty seconds, maybe a little more, but the only sign of any success was that her sewn-on gloves had gone almost-icy cold; this was, however, good enough for Odd, who gave a vague grin of triumph.

Carefully, he squeezed Elsa's hand softly. "This is going to hurt," He warned, as he beconned for Mia to come over, and as he locked his fingers with her - with Anna softly stroking the back of her other hand softly to reassure and comfort her too. Mia called up her powers again with a little difficulty as she came forward, then timidly came forward and rested her hands upon the general area of her Aunt's burn. As Elsa flinched away, she jerked back a little too, and Kristoff had to gently ease her hands back onto the red-raw skin as she began to feel a few nerves.

It was a few agonising minutes before the Queen finally began to stop twitching from pain, and eventually, she sighed in relief as the coolness of Mia's gloves soothed the burn. She let a tiniest smile of relief settle on her face, and when she turned around, she pulled her niece into a weak, one armed hug, careful not to move her injured shoulder too much.

"Thank you, Mi." She whispered gently, though her throat was not only scratchy now from the air, but incredibly dry from thirst. Still, she tried to ignore this, hoping her captors would have the decency to give them some food and water soon, and allow them outside for a quick stretch of the legs, and a hurried toilet break.

She looked up slowly, suddenly realising the task she now had at hand.

"I've got some news." She said cautiously, and coughed a little, actually grateful for the seconds it took to put it off slightly. "And you're not going to like it."

* * *

**It's crazy - I've been rereading Frozen Powers I, going through it for mistakes etc so that I can post it to W****attpad, and I never realised quite how much less dark it is than its sequels... Wow. It's so weird, but it's quite nice, going through it and realising how much stuff I forgot about. Like, does anyone remember that Anna had to go to Corona to take the King and Queen's place when they died, because Rapunzel and Eugene were missing? I certainly didn't recall that!**

**Also, there's currently a 'Disney Fanfiction Award 2015' being hosted by a person on the wattpad website (if you search 'Disney Fanfic Awards' in Google it'll probably be there) so if anyone happens to have a Wattpad account, or has free time to make one, I'd appreciate any votes for my story! But only if you think it's worth a vote, though!**

**Another thing, I'm making a promotional video for the series to post onto youtube, and I was wondering if anyone could make some art for me to include in the video? It doesn't have to be amazing, and you don't have to do loads - whether it's just one, or more, I don't mind. The only thing I will say is that it must good enough so that people can recognise what it is (so, if it's Seier, it can't really look like a giraffe...)**

**If anyone can help out, I'll be so grateful, and I'll make a list of everyone who does on the video and here!**

**One last thing, Jealouswayward is writing a fanfic for this fanfic about Seth - keep an eye out for it!**

**Love y'all!**

**-SG**


	12. Chapter 12 - dedicated to OmegaMarker

_**"Thank you, Mi." She whispered gently, though her throat was not only scratchy now from the air, but incredibly dry from thirst. Still, she tried to ignore this, hoping her captors would have the decency to give them some food and water soon, and allow them outside for a quick stretch of the legs, and a hurried toilet break.**_

_**She looked up slowly, suddenly realising the task she now had at hand.**_

_**"I've got some news." She said cautiously, and coughed a little, actually grateful for the seconds it took to put it off slightly. "And you're not going to like it."**_

* * *

The soft colours of the near-midday sun, deep oranges and yellows of many different hues, gently painted the cottages and the castle of the Kingdom, the delicate rays licking at the fields surrounding them, colouring them in golden shades of strength and prosperity. The crisp air was akin to that of the morning chill, though whispers of warmth floated across on the gentle wind.

Down in the villages, people milled about in their little flocks, going about their chores cheerfully as they worked together on the common goal of celebration. The date: February the seventh, and though not a day of much significance to the rest of the world, it was one of great jubilation for the occupants of the Southern Isles; it signalled the start of the recovery of their nation which, once a strong and powerful place, had since fallen from grace after the attack of Arendelle.

The people were, understandably, still furious about it. As far as they knew, Queen Elsa and her ships had come attacking to take back their youngest Princess, who at the time, had been just two years of age, and was in the care of the Southern Isles, after Hans had "rescued" her from being abused and tortured. He and Ayla had spread the knowledge that it had been little Mia's family who'd been the ones to organise the beating of her - when in truth it had been them - and so the people believed Arendelle had been taking the child back, only to abuse her more. It had certainly gained them a poor reputation among the people of the Southern Isles.

It had been Ayla - now better known as the Princess - who had saved them from being "completely assassinated by the wicked Queen of Arendelle", as Hans would put it in a speech later on, informing the confused people what had happened. She'd been weak and Elsa had very nearly defeated her, something which she would later go on to openly tell her people, to show how determined Arendelle was to overthrow the Southern Isles, even though this had never been their ambitions anyway; still, it had gained her the people's support after she'd made "the Dome", as it had become known - the giant shield of magic, which had concealed the entire kingdom for years. It had hidden them from view, stopping any entry or exit from the country and completely removing them from the map, too; it had left their actions completely concealed from the rest of the world, so that they could do whatever they liked within their land, and no one would know of it.

Even planning for war.

It had been on this day, six years ago, that Ayla had awoken from her coma, which she'd fallen into after she'd exhausted her magic reserves creating _The Dome_. It had been a rough month for the people; along with the protection, the magical shield had brought with it a great heat wave, not unlike Elsa's winter in the middle of summer, except it was the reverse. There had been a massive shortage of water, and the stored crops had shrivelled and quickly gone bad. If that hadn't been bad enough, at least fifty people had perished from heart failures over that horrid month, and it was only Hans' speech to the people which prevented people from rebelling. He had pointed out that if Ayla hadn't removed Elsa by force with _the Dome_, then that witch would have killed every last person who stood in her way.

This point did quell the rising tension for revolution, at least, but it didn't improve the situation; it wasn't until the day when Ayla awoke that things began to look up. She'd been able to stabilise the weather in the Dome with her magic the same day - though she was still feeling weak so it had taken a few days to really come into affect properly - and that had signalled the start of a more prosperous future for the kingdom; Hans and Ayla had married, and the people had accepted them as the rulers of the kingdom (though they had to work alongside the King and Queen to get laws passed, which wasn't so hard, because Hans wasn't afraid to threaten them if they refused).

Also, with the help of Ayla's magic, which, within the month, had all but replenished itself, they'd been able to increase each worker's productivity and develop more efficient tools to work with. The food situation was sorted within a few months too; while Ayla didn't have strength enough to provide food for each person, she had it in her to help the crops grow much faster than normal, for the climate inside _the Dome_ had meant that it was more like summer than winter.

It was now, on the anniversary of that day, that people now celebrated the start of the recovery of their once-great kingdom, and the promise that the future held better things in store for them. It had originally just been a one-year-anniversary event, but it had turned into an annual holiday, lasting over two days. On the first, street parties littered the villages, with food of incredible quantities to share among each other, and an atmosphere of general happiness was present anywhere one went. People were also busy preparing for the following day, when hundreds of balls - a large one in the castle for the nobles of the land, and smaller ones in church halls for all the villages in the Kingdom - were to be held, the highlight of the holiday.

At present, Ayla herself was down in the villages, helping out with the arrangements, getting friendly with the people as she helped to repair old dresses which needed a little love and care, and helping with the cooking of cakes and dishes for the lunch, which was to be served up in just an hour and a half. It had originally been Hans' proposal that she should go down to help, to improve her popularity; Ayla agreed happily, pointing out that he had to look after Seth in her absence, what with the servants all getting ready for the ball the following day.

To say that he hadn't been utterly overjoyed was an understatement.

Still, despite his best efforts, Ayla had refused to remain behind after the suggestion that she should mingle, and so, much to his dismay, the Prince had been left behind with his rather irritating little brat of a son at the castle. It wouldn't have been quite so bad if the boy wasn't so annoying - Hans had, at the start, tried to be willing and open-minded, but after playing hide-and-seek for half an hour with a chameleon-child, he quickly lost his patience.

Eventually, Hans had resigned to simply watching over Seth, taking him out to the castle grounds - for it was a rather warm winter's day - and settling down in the corner of the courtyard, spreading out a hand of solitaire.

Seth watched with interest as the rounds passed, silently watching his father's moves, trying to work out how to play so that he could help out, eager to win Hans' approval. He grinned as he saw him placing down a King on top of its Queen, waiting until after he'd moved it to another pile and turned over the previous top card before he made a move; reaching over, he tried to place down an ace of hearts on top, expecting it to work, but he only ended up whimpering under Hans's stern glare. The older Prince roughly picked it up and placed it in a trash pile, before frowning at his son.

"Don't interfere unless you have something useful to contribute, Seth." He said strictly, though his voice didn't hold the usual malice which it normally contained, for which the young boy was grateful. "If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, that you can't play like that! Never go backwards, only forwards."

Seth nodded obediently as he shrunk back, trying to focus even harder to impress the ever-criticising man before him/

_Maybe he's not my real Father, _Seth thought slowly to himself, sighing as he watched him playing the game without him. _But he's all I've got. _As he sat still, he found his mind wandering to Ayla, too. _Perhaps all parents are like this with their children? Surely they must... why would Hans and Ayla take me in if they didn't care for me? They must love me, and yet they treat me this way, so this must be the way loving parents treat their child. Maybe they're just... _He paused for a moment, trying to think of an excuse while he watched Hans place down another card alone.

_They must just be trying to encourage my independence - Lord knows I know how important it is to not trust anyone, apart from those of undoubtable loyalty. They're just looking out for me by making sure I can look out for myself. _

He smiled at the thoughts that Hans and Ayla must love him, but it wasn't easy to convince himself of the statement as he overheard the gleeful shouts of the children outside the castle, happy and free.

He studied the solitaire board closely, and then his face lit up in a grin as he hurriedly placed down the ace of hearts from earlier down upon a two of spades, and a three of hearts. He then moved it across the a black four, and turned up the card from the previous row, grinning when he saw how fortunate it was. Reaching out, he snatched up a Queen of hearts from the top of the deck, and placed it down roughly. Hans chuckled in amusement, with tiny hints of pride.

"Well done, Seth." He said plainly, but the boy didn't need the tone to get the message across - that Hans had spoken those words to him meant that he had to be important in some ways. "Maybe you're not quite such a waste of space after all." He nodded at the boy to convey his pride, and Seth beamed back in response, but inside his heart ached, and he quickly turned camouflaged, wanting to hide.

_Did he really think I was a waste of space?_

* * *

**Okay, another light chapter, and a short one at that - I'm sorry. This week's been manic with A-level choices, going to check out work experience places, etc. So, sorry, but next chapter will be back to the dark scenes (maybe) that we all love to hate!**

**Right now, I'm exhausted (I need to stop leaving updates to the last minute) so I'm off to bed.**

**Please R&amp;R, and check out JealousWayward's new story about Seth if you get a minute! And I'm still looking for any artists, all help's appreciated (and you'll get linked to your page on the trailer)**

**-SG **


	13. Chapter 13 - dedicated to blackknght

_**"Well done, Seth." He said plainly, but the boy didn't need the tone to get the message across - that Hans had spoken those words to him meant that he had to be important in some ways. "Maybe you're not quite such a waste of space after all." He nodded at the boy to convey his pride, and Seth beamed back in response, but inside his heart ached, and he quickly turned camouflaged, wanting to hide.**_

_**Did he really think I was a waste of space?**_

* * *

"I still do not think that this was a good idea, Arne," the man said coldly, watching his superior through the flickering red candlelight. He lifted the chipped cup in his hands to his lips, the water trapped inside sloshing about with each movement, and he downed it in one quick gulp. He grimaced slightly at the off taste, and he frowned in displeasure, though it left him feeling smug when he thought about how much their prisoners would have worshipped it, and how he'd taken it from them.

"What's the matter, Lars?" Arne asked flatly, kicking his feet up onto the table as he leaned back in his chair relaxedly, feeling rather satisfied with himself. Lars watched with sharp, disapproving eyes, and placed his cup back down on the table a little too roughly.

"Your plan seems flawed, Arne." He answered, "The men have gone out alone. What is to stop them from simply going to find a Guard, surely?"

Arne shook his head, glaring at his associate. "D'you really think I'm that foolish, Lars?" He huffed, as if such a thought had wounded him, the underlying accusation a gunshot to his pride. "They won't bring anyone back here. I've already made sure of that; if they do, their families die, and while I'm not one for giving in to love, I'm not blind either. I can see they adore their wives and brats, so naturally, they're my playing cards, so to speak."

He frowned, as he fiddled with the handle on the blade of the knife which was so slyly concealed in his belt. "I'm not saying you men can't have your... _payment_ with the women when they return, of course - how cruel would I be if I denied you all some relief, eh?" The men chuckled in anticipation as they banged their heavy paws down on the table, the thumping it created a chorus of agreement. "Still, if that ice harvester and my brattish spawn dared to return with back up, then they'll lose the things that are most important to them; all it takes is a few seconds of warning, and there'll suddenly be an extinct line of royalty."

Lars frowned as he sat back further in his chair.

"If you believe that will stop them from running for help, then I shall not say a word more." He said sullenly, "But I can't say that I agree with your judgement."

A quiet murmur of agreement spread through the five other men seated at the table, and Arne snarled in the back of his throat.

"There's a reason I'm the one in charge, runts." He snapped harshly, not used to being criticised and challenged; his fists clenched around the handle of his knife again, his finger slipping to slice his skin, beads of blood quickly rising to the surface, black in the eerie glow of the flames. "This conversation is over - the men should be back within half an hour. You can have your payment then, once the food's been butchered."

"And if they catch nothing?" A man, a heavy and burly specimen, asked in a gruff voice, the same man who had been the one to first escort the Queen away to face her fate; the same man who'd been in charge of the lashings, the beatings and the general mistreatment when the prisoners made a fuss which he so revelled in.

"Hold your horses, Gunnar." He said firmly. "This conversation is over - if they bring back nothing, they can just go out again tomorrow. But unless they catch something, they don't eat."

The men nodded solemnly, still considering whether Arne's plan was foolproof or not, but none voiced any more comments. They'd see whether it would work soon enough.

* * *

Odd moved his finger to his lips silently as a gesture to his companion, as he gently placed his foot down on a smooth rock, progressing at a slow but steady pace towards his target; the animal's ears flicked about rapidly as Kristoff stepped lightly on a twig, but they were still a fair distance away, perhaps about fifty metres, so thankfully, the deer didn't shoot off. It was a weak, fragile creature, clearly having seen a fair share of pain in its life, with half of its left ear being torn off by some creature, and matching claw mark scars on its flank. With its rear right leg permanently bent at an awkward angle, from a broken bone which had healed badly, it was incredible the animal was still alive.

Odd sent his companion a stern look, who raised his hands quietly in apologetic submission and stopped stalking the animal they were hunting, deciding it made more sense to leave the job to the one with the experience. Backing off quietly, he nodded to convey to his comrade to go on without him, and the smaller man nodded in understanding.

Sneaking a few metres closer, he raised the weapon in his hands, a flimsy and unsuitable wooden bow which looked as if it would simply bend in half with pressure, rather than being strong enough to work. Still, Odd hadn't grown up with an easy life, and wasn't one to give in to a challenge; aiming carefully as he hid behind a great tree's trunk, he paused slightly and then let loose the arrow. It went slightly off course as the feeble bow didn't provide enough power, and he groaned quietly as the projectile whistled through the air towards the deer, whose head had shot up and it bolted quickly.

As Odd quickly re-fired a second arrow, the deer let out a pained bleat as the first imbedded itself in it's side, tripping over in pain. The poor creature stumbled as it tried to escape the second missile, but it couldn't move fast enough with only three legs and a bleeding side. The second arrow hit where it had been intended, just behind the creatures shoulder, and it managed to gallop perhaps ten, twelve metres before its legs gave way.

Brandy Shot whinnied in discomfort at the scene before him as he struggled to get free from the tree he'd been tied to, and even Sven whined quietly, trotting over to Kristoff for a comforting scratch behind the ears.

Odd watched sadly as the deer gasped for breath as it lay its head down on the floor, its body shuddering. With a last, final attempt to draw in air, it closed its eyes tiredly, let out a strangled bleat of resistance, and then faded away.

The two men went over to the deceased animal, both staring down at the poor creature regretfully, though Odd, hardened from years of hunting for survival, was a little less hurt in some ways, and more hurt in others. He paused as he clenched his fist around the arrows before pulling them out, the projectiles simply making him think of his own son being shot, and his current state, and he struggled not to let out a yell of anger at his father. How he could have ever shot his own grandchild, Odd would never know.

"Come on," Kristoff said dully as he bent down and heaved the deer up onto his shoulders, stumbling at the extra weight, before he lugged it over to Sven - with Odd's help - and draped it across his back. Using some flexible willow found nearby to tie the carcass onto the reindeer's harness, he then noticed exactly how the deer had been killed, and was genuinely amazed.

"It's gone clean through the lungs," he commented in awe, "How on earth did you achieve a shot like that?"

Odd shrugged, as he jumped up onto Brandy Shot's back, not really feeling very good about shooting the animal in the same way his Father had shot his Son. "Eleven years of practice as a kid can do that to you," He said with a weak attempt at a grin, "Never did I think I'd need these skills again once I'd moved into the castle, I won't lie."

"Guess you were wrong there, eh?" Kristoff commented, and Odd nodded slowly, before he sighed. He pushed Brandy Shot into a rapid walk, with Sven catching up soon after, and he tried to simply not think about the situation.

Kristoff, however, wasn't blind, and he noticed quickly that something was wrong. As he and Odd began to trot, and then progressed into a steady canter, he called out to him. "Are you okay there, Odd?" He yelled over the thudding of the animals' hooves. "What's on your mind?"

Odd wished he could avoid the topic, because speaking it aloud made it real, but he knew he couldn't get away from it.

"I'm confused, Kristoff," he admitted in shame, "I can't see how we can get out of this hell-hole. I've got my bow, but that's not enough to kill all the guards in one go. We can't get help from the castle, either, or they'll kill them all - if my Father's twisted enough to shoot his own Grandson without second thought, he'll have even less concern about killing off Anna and Elsa, and the kids."

Kristoff frowned at the sombre comment, and then sighed himself. "We can't stay there forever, that's for sure. Fredrik's only going to get worse, and I don't want to worry you but... well, it's the truth. He needs care, which he won't get in this captivity we're in. And the kids have all seen enough as it is; it's bad enough for us, as adults. It's worse for them - except perhaps Mia. She seems to have just accepted that she's there, as if she doesn't care anymore. No kid should think like that; she's eight years old, for Heavens' sake!"

Odd nodded, and then he suddenly kicked Brandy up into a gallop as a wave of determination overtook him. "Tonight." He said loudly. "Tonight, we're having a group meeting. And tomorrow, we'll get out of here, before it kills us."

"Agreed."

They slowed to a canter again, and carried on together for five minutes straight, until Odd pulled his horse up to slow him down to a walk, and then a halt. Jumping off, allowing the gelding to have a quick snack before going again, he sprinted over to a nearby pile of what, at first glance would have looked like rubbish; to an experienced survival expert, however, it was a treasure trove of tools. A pile of old bones, about the size which would match that of a wild boar, and Odd quickly bent down to assess the stash.

Rummaging through, he grinned as he pulled out two large upper-leg bones, thick enough to make decent weapons, and two flat shoulder bones which were perfect for use as shovels. Grinning, he yelled for Kristoff to come over, and instructed him to rip the inside of his shirt, to make a pocket which could conceal the new tools.

"Won't they find these?" Kristoff pointed out as he did as Odd instructed, and his companion shrugged.

"Perhaps, but it's our best bet. We can use the leg bones as weapons, but we'll have to store them outside, as I can't see a way which we can get them inside."

Kristoff nodded in understanding. "Yeah, alright." He agreed, before helping Odd carry back one of the bones, and then jumping back onto Sven quickly. ''I guess they'll probably end up killing us anyway, so we may as well."

* * *

"Patience, men." Arne said harshly, "If you'd be quiet, you'd hear that our men are returning at last."

The men all grinned enthusiastically, while the two women in the adjoining room, hearing these words, locked their fingers together for support, just able to reach over, their other limbs all being tied down to stop them from escaping the treatment they knew was coming. It was inevitable, now.

Anna and Elsa remained there in silence as they listened into the conversation from the other room - Odd and Kristoff arguing very heatedly with Arne that he had agreed one hour, to which the man only replied that being on time simply wasn't good enough. They'd arrived before the hour was up - their families got to live (if one could call it an existence) but there still had to be some form of punishment, and the men were getting _restless_ by now...

A minute later, both Kristoff and Odd were thrown into the room with them, and chained up against the wall to stop them from moving. Anna looked over to her husband, her eyes shining with tears as she begged him to help her, though she knew that he couldn't. Elsa, howver, couldn't bring herself to look at her own Prince, whom she knew was so close to her - he didn't deserve someone like her. She'd already let Dagvin to abuse her all those years ago, though she had tried to stop him, and now it was happening all over again. Twice she'd let them take her, hadn't put up enough of a fight. Maybe even three or four times.

_Odd deserves someone better than that_, Elsa thought sullenly, and though she would later come to realise her mistake, at the time, with her mind on overdrive and her heart thudding rapidly in her chest, nothing seemed to make much sense.

The pain was tremendous, and Elsa was sickened that she was so weak. She'd not been able to make magic, to save herself or her sister. She'd not been able to release her husband or Brother in Law, to save them from having to watch.

All she'd acheieved was a fine frosting of snow.

Even as the same two letters were burned mercilessly into both sisters' skin, the same intricately patterned, deceivingly beautiful S.I. shape, she'd not been able to stop it.

And after it all, just as her sister had leaped towards Kristoff for the comfort he could offer her, she just ran into Odd's arms and stayed there, not crying - not having emotion enough left to cry - but just relishing in the sense of being safe which had always come with him.

But it wasn't the same as it had always been before. Nothing was as safe anymore; even to love was a danger, for you'd only end up hurt.

* * *

**First, in response to a guest review by KLime, while I won't say too much at this stage, yes, the Southern Isles is planning to become more ****powerful once again. They would have been weaker after the movie, as Arendelle would have cut trade ties with them, and so would other countries when they heard what happened, and they would have lost a lot of land too because their army would have had to have been scaled back in size. They aren't _necessarily_ planning on attacking Arendelle, at least not yet; that being said, they still want it in their control. Other countries bordering them may be attacked, though.**

**Now, this chapter's not as bad as some - still some torture there, but nothing too explicit. On the plus side, don't fret; they will come up with a plan soon.**

**Now, I only got a couple of reviews last chapter, so I'd be grateful for a couple more, if you could! Nothing much, even a "Nice!" Or "Well that sucked" is appreciated (but if you're going for the latter, at least say why or it's a complete and utter waste of those precious three seconds it took to write)! **

**Hopefully I'll be more loved on reviews this chapter - if I don't get love, I'll end up like Ayla (her Mother always loved her brother more, if you don't remember) and I'll make something really bad happen! You don't want that, so get reviewing!**

**(And if every single reader reviews, I'll kill off Ayla next chapter! Yay!)**

**Ah, I think the time of day's caught up to me - 20 minutes to 1 in the morning and I've now progressed past the tired phase, and I'm currently in that ten-minutes-of-absolute-hyperness phase (but being on my iPad's making me feel sick too, ugh...) I probably ought to go to bed!**

**So, see y'all around (in reviews, you must, you must!)**

**-(A very weird, kinda sick feeling) SG**


	14. Chapter 14 - dedicated to blackkngth

_**Even as the same two letters were burned mercilessly into both sisters' skin, the same intricately patterned, deceivingly beautiful S.I. shape, she'd not been able to stop it.**_

_**And after it all, just as her sister had leaped towards Kristoff for the comfort he could offer her, she just ran into Odd's arms and stayed there, not crying - not having emotion enough left to cry - but just relishing in the sense of being safe which had always come with him.**_

_**But it wasn't the same as it had always been before. Nothing was as safe anymore; even to love was a danger, for you'd only end up hurt.**_

* * *

The iron gate opened with a moan as the two women were roughly thrown back inside the cage, their eyes shining with pain, humiliation and, in the elder's case especially, guilt. In the flickering candlelight which seeped in quickly from the other room, a rare and precious gift for the inhabitants of the dingy room, the emotions shining there were evident; the shroud of darkness which fell as the heavy door closed was a welcome mask for Elsa, hiding her sorrows from her family.

Silently, the two sisters embraced each other as they tried to push away their hardships; Anna sobbed silently into Elsa's shoulder whilst she, in return, gently rubbed her back and kept her close. The group waited soundlessly as the two tried to calm down; Kristoff and Odd watched in somber silence, knowing exactly what had happened - the same as before - and wanting to help their wives, but they let them have their moment to themselves. The children looked on in silence, not quite understanding, though Mia could recognise the way the pair were acting, exactly as she had as a child in some ways; her heart ached for her Mother and Aunt, breaking free from her numbness for a split second.

After a while, Anna pushed away from her older sister, and then slowly crawled over to Kristoff, feeling nervous that he'd push her away, but she knew, deep down, that there had never been any reason to worry, and she settled next to him quietly. She visibly flinched and involuntarily moved back as her husband wrapped his arm around her gently, and his brown eyes grew smaller as he frowned, hurt that she'd been forced to act this way. She calmed down after though, and quickly returned to his side.

Elsa, however, sat stiffly by the gate, not moving, refusing to look towards her husband in fear. She couldn't bring herself to go over to him as her sister had done, for she had never been as confident as Anna; years of being so scared of herself had left her very scared of how people saw her. She felt so very guilty; she'd betrayed him _again_, she'd let those brutes have their way with herself, and her sister too, _again_. She felt dirty- stained, even. The fresh burn from the previous day's abuse was still raw, and it began to ache again as she thought of it; the one on her shoulder from before had, by now, scabbed over and was beginning to heal.

Odd slowly inched closer to her, very aware that she was feeling nervous of him, not wanting to scare her any more than she already was; in some ways, she was just like a little mouse, timid and quiet and shy. A prey animal - and it only took one guess to know who the predator was.

Elsa shuffled back slightly as her husband came closer, and she flinched when he reached out to try and take her hand, quickly pulling it back. He shifted a little closer to her again, feeling so horrid that she felt so afraid of facing him and that he was making it even worse by approaching her, but he knew that he'd never get through to her otherwise.

"Elsa..." He began quietly, his voice rough from the air, but gentle at the same time. "It's not your fault, Elsa. You haven't done anything wrong. My Father's the one at fault here, and his men too; they're the ones who did this to us all." He took a slight break to catch his breath, and he opened his arms slightly, slowly, for her to come to him. "Whatever they do to you, Elsa, I don't blame you. I'm not going to see you any differently to what I did before."

Elsa was silent for a second, contemplating his words as she timidly looked up, blue eyes small and scared in the darkness, and then she slowly settled into his embrace, stiffly and not quite relaxed, but still somewhat reassured.

She sighed as he slowly went back to where Kristoff and Anna were, with Elsa following him quietly, amazed that he could still be loyal to her, after all the times she'd been too weak to stop other men from taking her body. So many men would have looked on her and her sister with scorn, but Odd and Kristoff were representative of the increasingly patient and understanding male population; finally, after so many years of men seeing women as nothing but possessions, it was nice to see that more and more people were beginning to forget those old-fashioned ideas. Of course, it was always the men who were in lower classes that were most understanding - the upper classes tended to stick to tradition.

She couldn't help but think of how Bjørn had only wanted to marry her to use her, too.

As Elsa and Odd, and Anna and Kristoff, settled down after the traumatising half an hour of abuse which the two women had been subjected t, the children sat at the other side of the room, trying to hold a squirming Fredrik still. Kari and Thomas were trying to hold him down, while Mia came to him slowly, and placed her hands upon his wounded shoulder gently. He winced and tried to get away, but his cousins kept him down. Mia looked at him sadly in the sliver of light.

"I'm sorry, Freddie," she whispered, as she closed her eyes, and tried to use her magic on the wound. A few seconds passed as the little boy grew more and more restless, and Mia's face contorted into one of concentration and exertion. She felt a headache coming on as she continued to try to use her powers, and could have cried in relief when she finally felt the ice spreading across her cousin's arm; and yet she didn't, for her mind was still numbed of emotion, so she didn't feel so much alleviation as she would have otherwise.

"Hurry up, Mi!" Kari whispered harshly as she held a still pained, struggling Fredrik down, though her voice was strained and hoarse. At her sister's words, Mia peeked open one single, piercing eye and stared at her blankly, glaring very slightly but not making a sound in response, as she continued to work.

Perhaps a minute later, though possibly more or less, Mia finally managed to thicken the coating of ice around Freddie's wound, and she pulled back with a pounding headache, and bones which felt like they'd been filled with lead. She retreated back against the wall and slowly brought her knees up to her chest, rocking very gently as she'd always done as a child, though now to soothe her discomfort, rather than her fears.

She wasn't as numb as she'd been before; she was beginning to register things again now. Still, she didn't feel nearly as much emotion as she should have, under the circumstances - it was more a blessing than a curse, at a time like this, but she wouldn't want to remain unfeeling forever.

As the girl sat there, humming quietly to herself, she wasn't aware of her younger sister's approaches, and Kari came over silently, hardly rustling through the straw-covered floor as she drew closer. Mia flinched slightly when she noticed the younger's presence, but reacted no more than that, watching her with quick, but unenthusiastic, eyes.

"That was-" Kari began to whisper angrily, but her voice cut off half way through and she was forced to start again, unable to seem to find enough breath to form the words. "That was hurting him, Mia!" She finally concluded, coughing afterwards, her especially strained voice possibly a cause for concern. As she descended into a short coughing fit, she kept her eyes on her sister all the while, as if she thought her unnecessarily cruel.

"I did my best, Kari." Mia replied flatly, as she turned her body away to face the walls, which were covered with rotted wooden planks. Kari, however, didn't seem to think it a good enough excuse.

"Try harder, then!" She managed to say in her strangled voice, and she coughed again a few times after. Mia huffed, and refused to speak; Thomas came over soon after, and tried to calm down his twin, but to no avail.

"Kari, be quiet!" He hissed in frustration, his usually cheerful demeanour stolen away from being trapped in the dingy room, and his sister turned on him sharply, glaring. "Do you really think Mia would be strong enough to ever hurt someone else? You know she's got confidence problems."

Mia frowned as she listened to the conversation, and as Kari retorted by saying that "She was being lazy", she decided she'd had enough, and rose to her feet slowly. Carefully, she made her way over to little Freddie, who was now laying down in the straw, and helped him up with his good arm.

"I'm sorry I hurt you, Freddie," She whispered, her head twingeing slightly at the words. Fredrik shook his head at her, sounding just as pained still as he looked.

"Tha's okay, Mi." He said quietly. "There was nothing else to do." Mia nodded gratefully, relieved that he understood that she hadn't been trying to hurt him, but she frowned as she inspected his arm. In some ways, trying to make the ice bandages had been a waste of precious energy; the wound had begun to smell really quite bad - thankfully masked by the ice - and surrounding the site, red streaks were patterned across his skin, another obvious sign of an infection. All she'd been able to do was slow down the development of an infection, not stop it all together.

"Come on, you," She whispered softly, as she helped him up onto his feet, and walked him over to his Mother, before tapping her shoulder gently. Elsa visibly jumped in shock and fear, but quickly settled and reached into her pocket, knowing what the pair was after; a small piece of jerky meat, which Elsa had saved from her dinner the previous night. Freddie went back slowly with his prize in his hands, stumbling slightly and looking quite downtrodden.

Elsa sighed for her son, though she was proud when he shared it out with two of his cousins (though she worried a little when she realised he hadn't had any himself).

Mia, meanwhile, watched on with increasingly aware and jealous looks. _Those lucky things don't even know what pain is, _She thought dejectedly, and couldn't help but wish that she didn't know either.

Mia was stunned out of her thoughts as she noticed the group had gotten smaller, and she still seemed to be a 'member', owing to the fact that they had yet to kick her out.

"We can't let this go on any longer," Odd said in a low, but calm voice which helped to settle everyone's nerves. Elsa moved slightly closer to him slowly, trusting his judgement a little more. "They've taken you two-" He gestured to his wife and sister-in-law at this comment, "Twice already, and no doubt, they'll continue to do so until you fall pregnant."

Elsa blushed a slight crimson red in shame as her body stiffened again, while Anna whimpered quietly, embarrassed. Odd overlooked these things as he gently took his wife's hand softly at the same time, to gently stroke the back of it with his thumb. She seemed to relax a little, but the words had been a blow she hadn't wanted to accept. Having it said out loud just made it real.

The group was silent for a short while, no longer than a few minutes, as they tried to formulate a way out, before Kristoff's face lit up. He grinned, as he mentioned that the animals were kept in the room on the other side of the dirt wall, so they could escape through there. Anna claps sarcastically - though with less sarcastic enthusiasm as normal - and rolls her eyes.

"We'd just end up trapped in there, Kristoff. It wouldn't make a whole lot of difference."

Odd, however, was thinking along a different route, and his face lit up as he thought of something. "No, no, no! I do think Kristoff may be onto something..."

Elsa looked slightly interested in this new development, as she sat a little taller. "Care to elaborate on your plan, hmm?" She asked gently, though the words did hold an un-intentioned sense of frustration. Odd was silent for a few seconds, before finishing.

"It could work." He said, his throat scratchy. "If we could dig a tunnel through to the animals' pen, then they could hide there if the men came to call. Then all we'd need to do is knock them out, and we'd only have four of five leftover, 3 of which are out anyway.

Mia, who'd been silent up until now, smiled slightly. "I know how we can make it work better." She added with a confident grin.

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**Review replies**

_blackkngth_:** I do like the idea of Mia having a chance to shine, as you put it - I'll have to steal that idea xD **

_spartandestroyr_: **Hmm, that's a fair point, but then I guess Anna would be reluctant to allow him to take her daughter's memories, bad or not - they're a part of who she is. Besides, I imagine that Pabbie can't remove memories, only slightly alter them, so if that was the case, he would only be able to remove the torture scenes, but not the scary men, the scenery, etc, nor her thoughts. Either way, that just seems like a cop-out to me xD**

_OmegaMarker: _**I'll see they get their comeuppance :D**

_Purple Pizza: _**Yeah, Ayla is like Bellatrix - that character everyone loves to hate! Arne, though, will get some sort of punishment, I promise **

_KLime (Guest):_ **I get your point about the branding being unnecessary, but if you think about the timing of the branding, or rather, what was happening then, it may have more significance (just something to think about). I think quite a few readers may have overlook what actually happened - it was implied, but not completely set in stone.**

_Ratchet McCloud: _**I won't lie, that does sound rather tempting**

_Summer loving snowman:_** Thanks for the idea! **

_Pabulover123: _**I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for the comments!**

_ElsaAnnaforlife:_ **I'm happy you enjoyed the series - if you read through it in a week, I guess it can't be too shabby (that's like reading the first three harry potter books and half of the fourth in a week, good going!)**

_anniGirl93: _**Sorry to upset you, but it probably was exactly what you thought... I didn't go into any explicit detail, but it was implied I'm afraid (it was necessary though, because it's that extra incentive they need to escape)(I hope you won't stop reading because of that?). ****As for the trafficking, though, no, there won't be any literal trafficking of them. Arne had planned to use the women as 'Breeding stock', as one of his men put it before, but don't worry - I'm not going to spend the rest of the story having them locked up! So yes, I can promise that I won't :)**

**Now, I still need help with making the trailer for the story, I've got hold of some happy pictures, but I need people who can help me make pictures for the following scenes (the sadder ones):**

**Elsa and Ayla fighting (end of FP II)**

**Mia in the caves (FP II) / the whole group trapped by Arne (right now - obviously)**

**Odd hung up in the cave at the southern isles (FP II again, I'm starting to see a pattern)**

**Ayla doing some magic (such as when she killed Dawn, FP II and a half)**

**Seth / Mia crying**

**I'll probably need more later on, oh gosh :S this turns out to be quite a large project - I can make some things, but I need help too please! I'll be so grateful if anyone can help out!**

**Now, this was a very relaxed chapter compared to some - next time is when the real stuff begins! (I think) I'm sorry this one was a bit plain, but you can't have everything xD**

**I love you guys so much - I'll see you next chapter!**

**-SG**


	15. Chapter 15 - for ASome & KLime (guests)

_**"It could work." He said, his throat scratchy. "If we could dig a tunnel through to the animals' pen, then they could hide there if the men came to call. Then all we'd need to do is knock them out, and we'd only have four of five leftover, 3 of which are out anyway.**_

_**Mia, who'd been silent up until now, smiled slightly. "I know how we can make it work better." She added with a confident grin.**_

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_Spartandestroyr: _**Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked the chapter.**

_thorinii:_** I'm sorry you don't like these chapters, though it's understandable - don't worry, though! They'll get out sooner rather than later! As for repercussions, don't worry, there will be.**

_OmegaMarker: _**Thanks! And you're right - they definitely need to stay strong for each other.**

_KLime:_ **You mentioned that it's strange that Odd still calls Arne his father after everything, and that's a fair point - I went back and changed that after you pointed it out, so thank you! Also, I'm glad you appreciated the conversation between the kids, because you're right, it does show a different side to them. And finally, yes, the past few years have taken a lot from the family, it shocks even me to think that Ayla, her mother and brother (from the first book) and Hans, and their allies, can be so evil (and hell, I wrote them!). But don't worry - they won't come out of all of this unscathed!**

**Also, for your comment about Dawn's Poem as to why I wrote it, I was revising for my biology exam and got bored, basically. I thought it would be a nice addition.**

_Pabulover:_ **Thanks for the review! And as for Freddie, though I didn't see it that way, I guess you're right - he really is living up to his name (peaceful ruler), although their situation right now isn't quite peaceful!**

_ASome (guest):_ **That's a fair point, but then the gloves are a psychological hindrance, as well as a physical one. Because they are sewn on, the resistance is even stronger. Then, the group is weak, because they haven't been fed all that much, so using magic is even more difficult. Basically, with a lot of effort and concentration, they can use magic, but it isn't easy, hence why Mia made the ice around Freddie's arm, not Elsa - Elsa had just been abused, and though Mia doesn't understand how, she knows that it would put even more strain on elsa's battered body than her own. Not to mention the gloves have more psychological effect on Elsa, so she isn't as strong as Mia.**

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Arne was silent as he slunk into the room, a smirk on his face as he smugly watched his captives, and in his hands, he held a small bowl of cold food. He left the door open behind him so that the temptingly warm glow of the fire could drift in, teasing the occupants of the dingy room, and the edges of his lips curved up slightly in sadistic enjoyment.

"Good evening, people," He said slowly, his voice deep, coming out in a growl. He was silent for a second, before continuing to speak in the same derogatory voice, regarding them all carefully. "You ought to be grateful to me, you know. There's a little treat in your meal tonight..." He trailed off, and the prisoners looked at each other in puzzlement, not sure whether Arne was speaking the truth, or speaking in his normally twisted way, taunting them.

"Get to the point, you bastard!" Odd snarled out in response, watching his father with sharp, quick eyes, charting and monitoring every slight move he made, incase he would attack. He knew what the man was like; knew you could never trust him, nor could you ever predict exactly what he'd do.

"If it wasn't for the fact that your words have absolutely no value in my books, I'd feel rather insulted at that," Arne replied dryly, his grin turning into a scowl, but then it returned quickly along with his words, as he shifted his gaze to the two women in the cell. "Now, you'll find there is, indeed, a little surprise in your meal tonight, so you'd better enjoy it - but remember this. You can't get something for nothing in this world; I'll be expecting payment for your treat tonight soon, _ladies_."

Letting out a little chortle, he pushed the bowl through the iron bars which stood strong, separating the captives from the outside world - from freedom, even - and then turned around slowly, reaching his hand into a pocket hidden in his heavy coat, and withdrawing a small slice of freshly baked bread from it. He raised it up to his mouth sluggishly, allowing plenty enough time to allow the smell to waft around the room, and he revelled in the tormenting of his prisoners; he was breaking them slowly, until they would, one day, give in to him completely, when they discovered that the only way to prosper would be to work _with_ the cause, not against it.

From the back of the room, a low moan of longing echoed around the room, and Arne's eyes lit up cruelly; he stood still as he heard a scampering behind him, and then turned to see the youngest girl pressing against the bars, looking desperate and riled up at the same time. She clawed at the space between her and the man before her, trying to reach, willing her arm to stretch just a little further.

"Give us s-some-!" She shouted, her voice breaking as she finished, and she drew back, coughing slightly, trying to make a sound, but finding herself unable to make more than a breath. Arne watched her in amusement, and bent down to her level; pulling off the tiniest crumb, he handed it to the child through the bars with thoroughly amused eyes, and watched her greedily scoff it. He stood back up as she licked her fingers in pleasure, and as he walked out, he repeated his previous words.

"We need paying for the treat, ladies... Do _not_ let us down."

In one stride, he was gone, and the door slammed shut once again. The darkness consumed them once again, except for the sliver of rebellious light.

Through the blackness, Mia frowned at her youngest sister, disapproving of how she had given in to desperation, because in the end, she'd only end up wanting more. In the older girl's opinion, even a child as young as Kari should have known better; of course, Kari hadn't had the chance to learn that through experience, as Mia had.

Thomas was the first to move after Arne left, and he slowly sidled over to his twin, pulling her backwards from the fence as he said in a playfully teasing tone, "I don't think he could quite hear you, Kari." On the outside, he appeared happy and mischievous, but the way his voice broke slightly as he spoke, and the way his eyes weren't quite shining as much as they should have in the sliver of light, betrayed the fear he truly felt. Still, he'd always been a happy-go-lucky child, and the only way he knew to deal with fears, was to conceal them with optimism.

Kari glared at her brother in frustration, and quickly pushed away from him, her strawberry-blonde hair looking fiery in the illumination of the candle light from the opposite room, and she turned away from him irritatedly.

"Just because I-" She choked out, but then her voice failed again, and she slunk back down, coughing and straining to make a sound. Thomas frowned at her now, noticing that it probably wasn't a one-off problem, and went over quickly, grabbing hold of her wrists and, with great effort - for Kari refused to co-operate at all - he managed to pull her over to his Mother's side.

Anna leaned down slowly and scooped her up, holding her tightly in concern as she looked over to her sister and husband, hoping that they could help her out. To her dismay, other than Kristoff's comment that she'd lost her voice, and that there could be many different reasons for this - which had been easy enough to figure out anyway - they had no clues. Anna then turned her gaze to Odd, wishing that he could shed some light on the matter, and that he could tell her how to make the child better, but he, too, shook his head.

"Sorry, Anna," He said dejectedly, his voice heavy with guilt, as if he felt he should have known. "I've never lost my voice before, so I never had a chance to find a remedy for it."

Anna sighed, as she released a writhing Kari from her grip, who quickly launched herself out of her Mother's arms, and scampered a small way away from her, before slowly sidling back to sit at her side; she wouldn't appear weak, but as much as she would deny it, she enjoyed the contact.

Once Kari had settled down, Elsa got up slowly to fetch the bowl of food; dinner for the group. Returning slowly, she called Mia and Fredrik over to the middle of the room so that they could all eat together, and then began to split up the food. Each person held out their hands reluctantly, for they had no other way of eating without extra bowls or plates, but none enjoyed eating any more - they were hungry, but the food was hardly tasty.

The group stared down at the meal they had been served, and frowned at the added 'treat', trying to decide what it was, before Odd decided to enlighten them, mentioning that their 'extra treat' was dandelion leaves. Anna scoffed in disgust loudly, wrinkling her nose at the food.

"God, they're trying to poison us!" She cried, coughing quietly afterwards from yelling loudly. Kristoff, in turn, shook his head.

"Of course not, Anna," He said, and his voice was heavily coated with revulsion. "You and Elsa, at least, are much too valuable to them to even consider killing you off, unless they have to." He shuddered at the thought, and frowned when he thought of how well Arne had played his cards and trapped him and Odd - if they tried to get help, their wives and children would be killed on the spot. "Though they'd probably have no trouble getting rid of the rest of us, except Mia and Kari. I mean, what use are we really?"

Elsa was the first to reply to this, as she placed her meal in her lap, and folded her arms. "No, they're keeping you to blackmail me and Anna into succumbing to their wills, and the same with the animals. But then you can work, too, so they don't have to - they probably love that."

"At any rate," Odd said, deciding it would be best to steer the conversation away from the rather dis-heartening issue of poisoning. "Dandelion leaves are actually quite good for you, even raw like this. So, no, I wouldn't say they're trying to poison us - not that I wouldn't poison them back without much thought."

"Odd!" Elsa scolded under her breath, "Whether they are evil or not, doesn't mean we need to kill them- then we'd be stooping to their level! We just need to send them to prison, with a lifetime sentence."

Odd frowned, not quite agreeing but saying nothing, thinking to himself how truthfully, he probably would kill his father, if given half a chance. He'd hate to be the same as him, but then would he really? He'd be delivering a punishment, not using it as a sadistic means for enjoyment or self gain - rather protecting people from being hurt by the psychopath. It wasn't like he would stoop to Arne's level - not really.

Elsa broke him out of his thoughts when her voice called out to Freddie who, at present, was still sat on the opposite corner, not having come to eat, though it was clear to see why; the poor boy hadn't had an appetite for days. Slowly, he gave in and sauntered sluggishly over, sitting next to Mia quietly, not making a sound as his Mother handed him his portion - less than everyone else, because she knew he'd never eat it as he was now, but still enough to keep him going. He pushed his hands back towards her in a weak attempt to refuse, but he didn't have strength to fight, so when Elsa made him take the food, he surrendered.

The poor boy was a state; as he sat there, he wobbled about unsteadily, his head pounding from the unforgiving wrath of his headache. His skin was pale and his eyes appeared exhausted, without their shine, but his hair was stuck to his head, and sweat rolled off of him in waves. His breathing was rapid, and he honestly looked a state. Timidly, he picked up one of the dandelion leaves and began to nibble on it lightly; Elsa sighed, but didn't force him, because she didn't want to stress the child out.

The group ate in silence, until finally, when they'd all finished - with the exception of Freddie, who had been able to eat but a single piece of jerky, and a dandelion leaf - Odd rose from his seat on the straw floor, and headed to the furthermost corner of the room, where he bent down and began to rustle about in the straw, until he found his tools which he'd been searching for: five animal bones, two of which were the ones he had found the day before, and the other three courtesy of Kristoff, who'd managed to find three small ones laying around when he went to gather firewood for Arne and his cronies.

Handing them out, one each to Anna, Elsa, himself, Kristoff and Mia, he nodded in determination.

"Tomorrow, it's all or nothing. We are getting out of here, or we'll die trying- but we can't live like this forever."

The group nodded in agreement, and even the children seemed to understand the gravity of the situation, for they nodded too - Mia, meanwhile, sat there idly, feeling almost confused now, wondering how on earth her family could be dealing with this so badly. When she'd been in the caves, she'd been physically kicked, whipped, starved, dehydrated and all other cruel forms of torture; in comparison, this seemed like some sort of dissatisfactory holiday. Certainly, her Mother and Aunt seemed to have had bad things done to them, but she still felt her own treatment had been worse.

"Come on, then." Odd continued, striding over to the left wall - Mia followed him dutifully, with her parents and Aunt close behind. "The men will return tomorrow morning, for breakfast; we'll need to be prepared by then, and we'll need to have had a good rest, too."

The group nodded once again in understanding, before they began to work on their escape route, praying that they could make it out the following day as one unit still.

But the odds seemed to be stacked against them, for certain.

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**Thanks for the reviews last chapter, guys (but I'd really appreciate a few more... please?) Next chapter will be the escape, so if you want a good one, those comments will help improve the quality!**

**Secondly, I'd like to clear up something a lot of people seem to have been unsure on: Elsa and Anna were violated and molested - after all, there's only one thing Arne and his men want from them...**

**Okay, so I'm off to bed now, I'm tired xD One last thing though - over the course of the next few weeks, please don't blame me if updates are a day late or so, because I've got my GCSE exams coming up in 5 weeks and I'm absolutely terrified now. I'm sure you understand :D**

**-SG**


	16. Chapter 16 - dedicated to Blackkngth

_**The group nodded once again in understanding, before they began to work on their escape route, praying that they could make it out the following day as one unit still.**_

_**But the odds seemed to be stacked against them, for certain.**_

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_ElsaAnnaForLife: _**Thanks for the review! Sadly, no, I cannot update faster, because I'm currently revising for my exams in a few weeks.**

_Pabulover123:_ **Thanks! I agree, Arne is absolutely sick, but then I guess there are quite a few twisted people in this story. And yes, Freddie is getting worse and worse - whether he'll get out of this or not, I won't say. Finally, I'm glad yo****u didn't mind seeing the other side of Mia - it's quite a change, when she's normally so quiet.**

_Asome (guest)_**: You'll have to wait and see to find out whether they make it to prison or not, eh? xD And as ****for the Olaf suggestion, he may have something to do with their escape, but you'll find out in a few minutes anyway!**

_K__Lime (Guest):_** You basically summed up Arne in your review, well done xD You're right, though - he does see them as inferior to him, because in his eyes, they're all weak and pathetic (though he doesn't underestimate Mia and Elsa's powers, to say the least)! As for the kids, I did hope that I'd be able to make characters for them, and I guess I (at least partially) succeeded! Finally, the comparison - I'm sorry you'd rather not have heard it in the first place, although to be honest, that is exactly what Mia was thinking, so it's not out of context, at least.**

_WildVirus (guest):_ **No worries, I get how crazy life can get :D As for twin telepathy, who knows? Maybe some time in the future it'll come up, I'm not sure.**

_OmegaMarker:_ **Yeah, I expect most people are on Odd's side in this case - who (but Elsa) would want to let those beasts live, eh? And I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter- hopefully this one will be good enough too!**

_CdrRMF:_ **Hmm, is it bad that I'm intrigued as to what you could be thinking now? Oh dear... Anyway, about the need for some lighter chapters, there will be some happiness soon, hang in there!**

_BlackKngth:_ **Thanks for the reviews! 3 Firstly, for your wish-list, I think you've been reading ahead of everyone else (as in, somehow reading chapters which haven't been written yet) because there will be some of your suggestions in later chapters! Secondly, you'll have to read on to see whether Mia has a role in the escape or not!**

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Mia's heavy eyelids fluttered open slowly as she looked around groggily, attempting to decipher where she was through blurry and darkened vision, clouded by the remaining dregs of sleep. After a few hazy seconds, she began to notice the dirt walls which seemed to be closing in on her, and she felt a little claustrophobic as her hearing began to come to, then noticing the sound of breathing, and after, as the fog in her eyes cleared, she noticed the shape of people, all tight packed into the limited space.

She scooted backwards a little, feeling surprised and just a little threatened at the lack of space; she felt even more trapped than she had done before, with next to no room to escape. She jumped in shock as she felt her body connect with the warmth of another behind her, her heart rate increasing suddenly as her body flooded with adrenaline, ready to fight, before she recognised the familiar scent and turned to see her Mother's smiling, but visibly terrified, face through the near-blackness.

Sighing in relief, she calmed down as she let out the breath she'd been holding, wondering how it could be that she was so aware, seeing as how for the entire time she'd spent in the cell, she'd been so unresponsive to everything that had been going on. Anna, also, was surprised at her eldest child's sudden return to mindfulness, and she turned her head, which was resting upon Kristoff's shoulder, to look up at him.

"Why's she so... _aware_, all of a sudden?" She whispered under her breath, though her voice quite loud in the near-silence of the room, only broken by Thomas' quiet talking to his twin. "She's been unresponsive to everything recently..."

Kristoff looked just as slumped as his wife felt, and he gave a low mumble in puzzlement. "It must be a survival reason, I guess? Before, her brain must have sent her body into a... oh, I don't know, some sort of state of numbness to stop her from getting hurt again like she was before. But now, she's got adrenaline so... so that'd make her aware and ready to go again."

Anna nodded in understanding, but couldn't quite decide whether it was a blessing or a curse that Mia was back to normal again; being sensitive again meant that she'd be more reactive and as such, may have a better chance of getting out safely, but when she was 'numbed' at least she didn't get hurt. She was bound to be emotionally effected in some way, now.

Anna pushed the thoughts out of her head as she began to feel more and more concerned for her family's well-being, instead looking over to her two twins to make sure they were okay. At present, the two were sat perhaps a person's distance away, cramped into the tiny little room as they were, playing _rock, paper, scissors, _with Thomas speaking the words, and his sister simply making an action, her voice still weak and very hoarse; if anything, it had gotten worse overnight, not better. From the very dim light of a glowing ball of ice Elsa had managed to create, it was just possible to play, though Kari's temper had shown itself a few times during the game and had spoiled the fun of it somewhat, when she grew annoyed again at her inability to talk. For a girl who loved to have her own say on matters - and especially loved having the last word a it was very frustrating.

Elsa, meanwhile, was sat in her husband's lap silently, feeling absolutely terrified for the next few hours; not only was she scared that her family would be hurt, she was also fearful that it would be down to her weakness. She knew she held a major role in the escape plan, and it only made her nervous.

She looked down at her still gloved hands through the darkness and studied them, wondering if she could make them less effective. At present, there were slash-marks all across the material, where Mia had broken holes with a sharp shard of her own ice, to make using her magic easier. It allowed the magic to escape from the confinement the gloves provided - and helped her psychological drawbacks too -but it was still hard to summon her powers, and even harder than normal to control them. The fabric was too thick and strong to break easily, so she had to settle with what she could get, and that was a few little holes here and there.

She looked down at Freddie in concern as a low moan escaped his lips once again, and she placed her hand on his forehead, amazed at how much warmer he was from the fever, and she frowned in concern, as she tried to make a little breeze to cool him down and soothe him a touch. He appeared to be grateful as he let out a tiny sigh of slight relief, but he continued to moan after. He was clearly trying to be silent, for he understood the importance of making as little noise as possible, but it was hard for the poor child.

Noticing Elsa's current distress, Odd gently placed his hand on her back and rubbed it in a circular motion, the repetitive, slow movements helping to ease her slightly, though she remained tense for the challenge ahead of them.

"It's nearly morning, I'd assume," He whispered quietly, and Elsa nodded slowly, though she didn't want to admit that it was time already. "We need to get ready- here, let me take Freddie. You need your hands free."

Stiffly, Elsa handed Freddie over to Odd, and then went over to the wall on the right, which was made not of dirt, like the others, but of rotted wooden planks, which would act as the barrier between the guards and their prey. It was a useful arrangement - the wooden planks had gaps in between to allow the group to look into the cell, watch what was going on, as well as (hopefully) hiding them at the same time.

"The Guards will be coming soon, to give us food- Elsa, Mia? Are you ready?" The two magic-weirders nodded slowly, and Mia scuttled warily over to her aunt, waiting to make her move in fear. Everyone felt bad that they had to give an eight-year-old girl such a large responsibility, but there was really no other way around it.

They all sat silently now, with the odd moan breaking the quietness from poor Freddie, as Elsa thawed the ice-ball with a little difficulty and tried to calm her niece down; the young princess was now breathing rapidly, getting even more worked up at the fact that she was feeling fear again - she didn't want to be afraid as she had been before. Elsa smiled at her through the darkness - though Mia couldn't see this - and in a slightly shaky voice, she whispered, "Come on, Mi- let's have a little fun with these guards, hmm?"

The young girl tried to smile at that comment and nodded cautiously, willing herself to be brave for her brother and sister, who - now that their distracting game was over - were looking pale as ghosts and absolutely terrified. Not that Mia saw this, of course, but she could feel the tension in the air from the two.

A little while passed before anything happened, at first just the door to the cell rattling very slightly, and then stopping again, and then it was still; a few minutes later, the heavy wood moaned again, and then opened completely, a guard standing there with a bowl in his hands. At first, he didn't notice the lack of prisoners in the room, until he pushed the bowl through and then realised that there was, indeed, no one there. Frowning in confusion, the man fumbled at the lock and stepped inside, looking around blankly, forgetting to even close the gate as he did so.

"Oi, someun, come in ere!" He shouted, his words slurring together, and he was quite evidently drunk as he swayed about on his feet. A second and third guard came in after him, looking much less tipsy, but still slightly out-of-it, and they scanned the room as he had done.

"Where are they!" The slightly larger of the men shouted in anger, and his shouts brought another man rushing into the room too, all of them looking as confused as the others, until the newcomer noticed the lack of dirt behind some of the wooden planks. He grinned at his discovery.

"Well, what's this, then?" He sneered, as he came closer and bent down to look, staring right into Elsa's face, his eyes glinting maliciously. "You know it'snot very nice to cause your hosts distress, my dear Queen." He whispered, and Elsa's scowled; Odd gently put his hand on her shoulder at the same time, watching the men behind coming slowly closer, telling her to wait for just a few more seconds to strike. Mia waited patiently, too, knowing that she was meant to let her Aunt to go first.

In the momentary silence, the drunken guard slurred out to the men outside that they'd found the prisoners; the reply was a simple grunt.

"You know, Queen Elsa," the Guard carried on, "You shouldn't go making trouble for yourself, and nor should your sister, given your possible... Conditions."

Elsa's fists clenched, and she had to fight to not attack just yet, waiting for the signal; Odd had tightened his grip on her shoulder, but she recognised that it was out of anger, not a sign. "My sister and I are not pregnant, you Bastard." She said in a firm, almost even voice, only faltering a little, trying not to allow herself to shout, which would make her seem unsure of herself. Her reply, however, only served to amuse the Guard.

"Oh, dear girl - how can you know that? Of course, you can tell yourself that all you like, but you don't have any proof just yet that you aren't."

There was a slight pause as the two stared at each other, both with cold glints in their eyes; Elsa's blue orbs shone with hatred, while the Guard's flashed in a sadistic enjoyment. Little Mia looked on in puzzlement, as well as anger, wondering what the significance of the man's words were. In the back of the small area, Kristoff was holding Anna close protectively, his strong arms trying to give her a sanctuary from the cruel people before them, and Thomas and Kari, now terrified at being discovered, had shrunk behind him as well.

Odd's grip on Elsa's shoulder tightened suddenly, and then relaxed, and she could have cried in relief when it came. Readying her palms below her, she listened as the man took in a breath to continue talking, and then she let it all out, a strong blast of icy air sending him flying backwards, colliding into his companions as he went. The four men smashed into the wall behind them with a rather satisfying thud, and then the door slammed shut, roaring as it did so, from a gust of wind sent by Mia. Sounds of sudden panic came from outside the cell, and as Odd shouted to Kristoff, Anna and the children to dig out the side wall, Elsa and Mia continued to work quickly.

Before anything, they sent blasts of ice at the door, though the gloves made some of the ice shoot off in opposite directions, effectively freezing the dirt wall also. Both were gasping for breath as they then sent as much power as they could muster up towards the men, freezing their feet together to stop them from following, though Elsa was terrified that one of them may have been hit in the head with a rogue beam of ice, many of which were now ricocheting around the room, staining the walls with thick snowflake patterns.

A pounding sounded at the door soon afterward, and the group jumped in shock; Anna and company began to scrape away at the dirt wall faster, trying to get through to the clearing they knew lay beyond, while Elsa and Mia sat together, desperate to help, but to weak now to do so, their very bones aching from exertion. They had known that they weren't strong enough to completely freeze the door shut with a massive layer of ice; they could only hope now that what they'd achieved would be enough. At the very least, the four men were still unconscious, so they couldn't help their comrades.

Ten seconds was all it took for the group to dig through the wall, where they were met straight away with a large, wet kiss from Sven and Lysse together, and they spluttered quietly, pushing the animals away and telling them to be quiet; in confusion, they obliged.

"Open up, _now_!" Came a shout from outside the room the group were now in, the man still pounding at the opposite room's door, and everyone visibly gulped as they tried to remain silent; Seier limped over to Anna quietly and whined in concern for her as he rubbed against her legs. She, in response, bent down and stroked his neck gently, happy to see that his ankle wasn't infected, and had even been bandaged, but he obviously couldn't put much weight on it.

"You ready, boy?" She whispered silently, and Seier wagged his tail enthusiastically, always wiling to help his 'Mother' if she needed it. Anna patted his head gently, and he then stalked over to the door, suddenly defensive, hackles raised and teeth bared, a very low growl emanating from his throat.

The remaining animals - Sven, Lysse, Misty, Brandy Shot and High Flyer - all watched in puzzlement; the two reindeer slowly went to stand at the wolf's side, heads down so that their antlers were ready to attack, and the horses stood still, ears flicking, listening for any signs of danger coming.

At the same time, Elsa and Mia, both exhausted still, each climbed up onto their animal's back and sat there, waiting, knowing they didn't have enough strength to run themselves.

"We go on the count of three," Odd whispered, as the group nodded slowly, all looking absolutely terrified. "There are seven guards; four are in the room, one's by the door. They'll attack us, so use your shield, but don't attack back, because we can't beat them."

Odd took a breath, his own hands shaking in fear for both himself and his family, and Freddie, still in his arms, weakly tightened his grip on his Father so that he didn't have to keep a hold of him so much.

"Three."

Mia built up a reserve of her magic in anticipation, so that it coated the lock on the animals' gate. A bead of nervous sweat rolled down the side of her face as she waited; she wished that her Aunt could have done the job on her own, but after using so much of their magic before, neither had the strength to do the job on their own.

"Two."

Anna smiled warmly at the twins, though her expression was dulled slightly from terror, before she and Kristoff picked up a child each and prepared to go.

"One."

Everyone shifted around nervously, ready to run - it was now, or never.

"Now!"

The lock exploded with a great force as Mia and Elsa spent the last of their magical energy thawing the ice inside it suddenly; Sven was the first to rush through the now open gate, smashing through the wooden door and letting out a war cry as he stampeded into the second room. He charged at the guard who was hammering on the door, and the man's face contorted into one of horror and surprise as the reindeer knocked him flying a few metres. Seier bounded awkwardly afterwards, landing atop the man and snarling, his claws scraping at exposed skin as his teeth scraped at the man's cheek, making the guard yell out in intense pain.

Sven snorted as Seier jumped off, and turned around, kicking out with his rear legs and sending the man crashing into another wall, definitely unconscious - he'd been a little tougher than the other guards, but having the element of surprise gave them an advantage.

"Come on!" Odd said as the group ran to where he knew the stairs were located, but it was obvious that they weren't out of deep water yet; from a room which led off of the opposite side came a second guard, who looked around in horror at the escaping prisoners, before he reached over to the table and grabbed a lone meat knife, left over from dinner the night before. With a shout of fury, he hurled it towards them, but his aim was shoddy as the blade, intended to hit Freddie, missed him and instead clipped the top of his neck, slicing a thin but fairly deep cut in his flesh. As blood quickly began to dribble down his skin, he felt his anger growing; spinning around, he pulled the knife, now imbedded in the dirt wall, from its holster and returned it with a sharp and fast flick of his wrist, the projectile whistling through the air before it landed deep in the guard's throat, tearing the skin ruthlessly and making him yell out in agony, as his life juice leaked quickly from the hole in his neck.

Odd gasped in horror as he realised what he'd just done - never before had he ever killed a person - and as the man writhed and yelled in a gurgling voice, he nearly dropped Freddie from his grip, as he suddenly felt his legs go weak.

"Odd..." Elsa's voice was a low whisper, breaking slightly in fear, but not fear of her husband, but of not getting out. "We need to go..."

Odd remained frozen for a few seconds as he watched the man spluttering and gargling, but then he went still, just as there came a sudden rattling of the door to the cell which the royals had inhabited, and it seemed that the guards had regained consciousness; thankfully, they seemed to have not realised they could have escaped from the path the prisoners had taken, so that brought a little more time.

The group hurried over to the stairs, and Elsa whispered, loudly enough for everyone to hear, "At present, there's only one guard left-" She looked to Odd sadly, and decided to get it over and done with, "Arne. He's not in here, so he's outside somewhere, and if he catches us... We're as good as dead."

A sudden smash came as the guards finally succeeded in breaking up the ice holding the door in place, and Kristoff gasped, as he quickly ushered the others forward, handing Thomas, whom he had been holding, to Anna before standing at the front of the crowd, ready to fight the guards, but Sven grabbed hold of his jacket with his mouth, and yanked him away.

"Quick, quick!" Anna cried out, as she desperately hurried up the steps which would lead to their freedom, throwing Kari and Thomas up onto Misty's back as she tried to urge the mare on, before using the wall to jump on herself and kicking her on, feeling guilty at being so rough, but at that present moment, she was only interested in getting out. She sat awkwardly as she tried desperately to keep hold of the two children in her arms, especially as Misty grew more and more rowdy the nearer she came to the surface, desperate to get out of the hell-hole.

Ahead of her, Elsa and Mia were galloping up the steps rapidly, their own mounts puffing in fatigue but still going strong; she could hear Odd, Brandy Shot and Freddie, Kristoff and Sven and Seier behind her, making up the rear. Furious shouts sounded from the bottom of the steps, and she felt Misty's body tense up as she began to get distressed by it all.

"Get back here!"

"You belong to us - return _now_!"

"We'll shoot you!"

One guard even went as far as to claim that they had to return, for it was too dangerous, alone in the wild; the arguament was a good one, but would have worked much better if the royals hadn't been subjected to brutal torture first.

The promise of freedom was so tempting now, and as the group burst forwards out of the staircase and into the fresh morning air, they could have cried in relief, if it weren't for the loud bangs that were sounding at their backs now, as the guards found themselves a gun.

Bang!

The noise echoed everywhere, and the animals scattered in fear; it took a lot of work to get them back on course, but when they regrouped, the men had now gotten out of the tunnel, and we're headed straight for them, bullets flying everywhere. They didn't seem to care anymore if they killed their 'breeding stock', but then if they were dead, they could still harvest the magic from Anna, Freddie, Kari and Thomas' blood, so they wouldn't have gone back completely empty handed anyway.

Seier growled menacingly as he limped forward, and then suddenly, he bounded furiously towards the men, his injured foot actually saving him from a bullet as he stumbled. His teeth were bared as he drew closer, eyes sharp and lacking the sparkle they normally held, now slit-like and purely feral, not tame. The guard with the gun worked hastily to try and re-load his weapon, while the others, armed with spears, attempted to push back the massive predator before them, who was now fuelled by a hatred for them, as well as a need to protect his family, and an instinctive desire to mark his territory, to eliminate the threat.

Sven watched nervously as his little friend battled the men, and then he knew his place in the escape plan; charging towards the men with yet another war cry, he tossed his head, his movements a little stiff from old age now, and then faced his antlers down, so that they were staring straight at the bulky guards, forcing them to keep a little distance. He skipped about as he avoided the spears, and managed to pull the gun free from the man's grip too, sending that flying a way away. He snorted and tried to drive the men back into the underground home, pawing at them in the hopes that he could knock them over, but one of the snakes managed to slip around the side of him.

Sven bleated in horror and he whirled around quickly, picking the man up hurriedly with an antler and dumping him back down with his comrades, snorting threateningly. He tried to push them back again, but he recognised soon that it was no use; he let out a great, pleading bleat, begging Kristoff - who was now struggling against his wife's wishes to go and help - to just let him go. He let out a second, louder cry, all but demanding that they leave, and the haunting sound of his voice made everyone feel horrid.

_Just go! _Sven bleated in a final bellow, before he suddenly felt a rope be thrown around his neck, and the men, together, began to drag him off. Strong beast as he was, he was old and weakened, and no match for four bulky, well-fed men.

Kristoff watched on in horror as his best friend was dragged off underground again, wanting to help, but knowing he couldn't; he had to protect his family, and Sven had told him to go. Still, the thought killed him inside.

"Sven!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, traumatised, but he suddenly recognised what his best friend had done; he'd given himself up, to give them that extra minute they needed to escape. Seier limped back over, whining in sadness too, and Lysse, watching the scene, let out an agonised scream for him to come back.

_I won't let them kill you, Bud!_ He thought desperately, and he willed Sven to understand the message. He then turned to his family, tears in his eyes, and he hopped up onto Misty with Anna, after handing Kari to Mia, and Thomas to Elsa (with Fredrik remaining, now asleep, despite the chaos, in Odd's arms).

The group turned and ran into the forests, eyes scanning the area like a hawk for any sight of Arne, or his cronies. They had but one goal now; to give Freddie a chance of survival.

* * *

**Sorry this chapter is so late, I feel awful, but I've had a hectic week so not much time to write.**

**I love you all, and I hope this extra long chapter was okay!**

**-SG **


	17. Chapter 17 - dedicated to KLime

**I won't let them kill you, Bud!**_** He thought desperately, and he willed Sven to understand the message. He then turned to his family, tears in his eyes, and he hopped up onto Misty with Anna, after handing Kari to Mia, and Thomas to Elsa (with Fredrik remaining, now asleep, despite the chaos, in Odd's arms).**_

_**The group turned and ran into the forests, eyes scanning the area like a hawk for any sight of Arne, or his cronies. They had but one goal now; to give Freddie a chance of survival.**_

* * *

_Spartandestroyr: _**Ah, I'm sorry for getting rid of Sven, but you can take some happiness from the fact that I never said that he died! There's still a chance for the old boy yet (although as for finding out the secret to immortality, no, I don't think he's quite clever enough for that)**

_KLime (Guest)_**: Well, I'm very glad you liked it :D Firstly, thanks for pointing out that I hadn't made it clear that Odd had been hit - it's that moment when you think one thing, and write another! Also, sorry about Sven (I'll probably end up saying this in every chapter comment), but who knows, maybe he'll return! As for Arne's doom, I don't want to give too much away, but... Well, let's just say you may be waiting a little while (Sorry, sorry, please don't kill me!)**

_Asome (guest):_ **Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked the ending!**

_Aggsun_ _(guest)_**: First, thank you, it makes me happy that you liked it! Second, I'm not sure what you meant when you said "What happened to AylaxHans"? If you were asking about their relationship, they are still together (but, of course, as a "business arrangement", so to speak!). If you were asking where they have been, they haven't been seen in a few chapters, but you'll see them again soon! And as for updating sooner, as I've said many times before in chapter comments, I can't update any faster- sorry. I'm right in the middle of my exams and I'm staying up until the early hours of the morning to finish the chapter, to try to get it posted on time! I may post an additional short chapter sooner, but not a full-length update.**

_Pabulover123:_ **You want a happy ending for Sven, hmm? Yeah, okay, everyone probably wants a happy ending for Sven! I guess it'll just depend on how many nice reviews I get - teehee, bribery!**

_ElsaAnnaforlife: _**I'm not going to say anything yet; it'll probably depend on how I feel later as to whether the girls are pregnant or not. They are still fairly fertile (Anna's 29, Elsa's 32) so it's quite possible that they will be, but I'll just see how it goes. As a hint, though, if one of them gets pregnant, it'd probably be Elsa; Anna already has three, after all, and I don't want to land too many kids on her!**

_OmegaMarker: _**You're right, it was a miracle that their plan went so smoothly, the only issues being that they lost Sven and Odd's neck cut (not fatal, but as you said, it's not a scratch either). Honestly, though, the only reason they managed to get out without everything going wrong was because of how much Arne overlooked them; he knew Elsa and Mia were dangerous, hence the gloves, but he didn't think that there could have been any way they could use their magic with the gloves' presence. Also, he underestimated Odd's ability too - he knows that he's strong to have survived in the wild as a child on his own, but he sees him as a fool, too, so he didn't think to get more security - he wouldn't have thought about the possibility that over half of his men could have been incapable of helping stop the group! ... Haha, stupid Arne! (But if we ever see him in the future, he may not be quite so naïve...)**

* * *

The forest was mysteriously beautiful as the small group meandered through the winding maze of trees, factions of strong, towering beasts and their smaller, more delicate associates, whose young branches reached out to the people and animals below, gently brushing over them as they passed. The moonlight painted the forest in a palette of soft shades, and far above, the stars shone brightly, bravely fighting through the soft cover of clouds to give their faint light to the world far below.

There was a somber silence among the travellers as they made their way through the labyrinth of trees, every single one of them agitated and jumpy, each person looking around wildly in fear whenever they felt the gentle caress of the trees upon their back, or the unexpected sound of skittering nearby. All around, the sounds of the night, normally so captivating, met their ears; owls hooted softly from their perches, and amongst the sound of the animals' footsteps, crickets chirped in a chorus of music. In the distance, the haunting, yet strangely captivating, sound of a wolf's howl rung out through the still, breathless air, and though it made the group's skin crawl, it was reassuring, too; the danger was far away.

At least, the wolves were. That was more than could be said for Arne and his men; they could be behind them, and the group would hardly know. They were weary from travelling for hours, especially the animals, and hungry, too; the poor creatures were so thin, and the only one which carried a little bit of weight was Lysse, who, Anna assumed, must have been given some extra food by Sven, who had always seemed to adore her. There had hardly been time to stop for nourishment, only time to move; they were all too weak to go quickly, the animals deprived of nutritional food, and stiff from being cooped up in a small room for so long, so they'd had to forgo breaks and simply carry on, to attempt to make up the distance between them and their possible pursuers.

At first, they had considered heading back to the castle straight away, but they'd quickly been put off of this idea when Kristoff pointed out something that they'd originally overlooked: it would have taken perhaps two or three hours to get to Odd's old home from Lars' at the speed they were capable of travelling at, and then an additional four or five hours to get back to Arendelle. Perhaps they could have made it in time, but it wasn't worth the risk; if they couldn't get home before it got too dark - which would be at roughly half past five in the evening - it was highly likely that Arne and his men would find them, given that he would probably assume that the royals would have immediately headed home. Instead, by taking a longer route, it at least gave them a chance to rest up overnight, perhaps find a little food and water, and get away from the threat.

"Mama?" Mia's voice was quiet, barely loud enough to be heard by Anna, who was a few metres ahead of her daughter in the 'herd'. "Mama, can we stop now? Lysse is really slow, I think she's really tired..." Mia paused for a second, and let out a little breath as she looked around herself in fear. "And it's dark - I don't like the dark."

Anna felt bad as she smiled at her daughter, slowing Misty down a little so that she and Kristoff - who was still riding with his wife - were walking next to her, and said gently, "We can't just yet, Mia- we need to find a place to sleep first." Mia sighed, knowing that what her Mother said was true, and she nodded slowly. Kristoff reached out gently and stroked her hair softly, then he took her hand and squeezed it.

"Good girl, Mi. We'll find somewhere soon, promise." His voice was reassuring, and even Anna felt calmed as he spoke - for the last few hours, he'd barely uttered a word, sitting stiffly as he thought about Sven. Mia tried to smile confidently at her parents, knowing there was nothing she could do, and Anna grinned back at her warmly, though she was terrified that Arne would catch up any second, and it showed in her not-quite-at-ease posture.

The next half an hour passed slowly, the animals all slow and exhausted as they stumbled through the forests, gradually getting slower and slower; poor Lysse was virtually falling asleep as she walked, and Kari, who was sat with her older sister, was also fighting the irresistible call of dreamland. Mia had assured her that she didn't mind if she dozed off, that she would hold on to her and that she'd be fine, but the younger girl had only huffed, replying - or at least, trying to reply - that she was fine, stubbornly trying to ignore the summoning of sleep and managing to get out " 'm not tired..." before her voice completely died out again.

By the time the group finally wandered across a place to sleep, however, everyone was on their last legs; the animals' heads were all scraping through the dirt as they struggled forwards, and Lysse had nearly fallen more than once as she dozed off for a second, jumping awake as her legs began to buckle.

Slowly, the family faltered forwards, climbing the slight slope up to a small rocky cave in exhaustion, only eagerness to rest driving them on; they all gathered at the back of the tiny space and collapsed suddenly, the animals falling and their riders sliding off onto the rocky floor below. As he drifted off, Odd noticed that he recognised the area, and then realised that it was the same place in which he, Anna, Kristoff and a week-old Mia had stayed when they were searching for Elsa, back when this had all started; when Karleif had kidnapped her for the very first time.

Softly reaching out to make sure his wife was still there, he sighed as he felt her laying next to him, a sickly Freddie cradled in her arms, and then he fell asleep too.

* * *

The sun climbed lazily across the horizon the next morning, blooming slowly in the sky as it shared its warmth and light with the world; Anna sighed happily as she felt the gentle caress of the golden medallion upon her face and bare arms, relieved that the long, cold night was finally over. There was a slight breeze which swirled around her face, not cold but refreshing, and she relished in the feel of it, never before appreciating such simple things; after weeks cooped up in a small, underground room with stagnant, stale air, such a small thing was worth more than all of the treasures her family owned. She focused on watching the beautiful colours dancing before her in the sky as the night was pushed away, trying to ignore the fear which had plagued her dreams, and plagued her sister's, too; she wouldn't even think about it, forcing herself to be happy as she focused on the breathtaking scene before her, and more than that, the freedom which came with it.

Kristoff soon sauntered to her side, and she snuggled up next to him, resting her head upon his shoulder and wrapping her arm around his back; Elsa watched from the background, wishing with all her heart that she could block out the harmful thoughts as her sister could, that she could escape the constant torment of fear and guilt, but she couldn't - it wasn't in her nature to do so. During their childhood, Anna had learned to try to ignore the pain of not seeing her sister, eventually succeeding in doing so, but Elsa could only ever try; every time she got close to blocking out the sadness, a fresh wave of guilt and fear would wash over her, and so it would all start again. Now, even eleven years after the great thaw, she was still the same.

"Elsa, come join us!" Anna called from the cave's entrance, looking over to her sister and beckoning, barely any sign of fear showing as she tried to remain strong. "It's beautiful!"

Elsa, in turn, tried to appear strong for her sister's sake - _it'll be my fault if she gets saddened by my own selfish sorrows_ \- as she replied, "I'm quite fine back here, Anna. You two enjoy the sunrise- don't let me intrude."

"Oh, okay then!" Anna called back, a little upset but accepting that Elsa was 'happy' where she was. Kristoff looked back at her quickly, suspecting something was up, but she gave what was her most reassuring smile and he let it slide. Odd, however, wasn't so willing to just accept it.

"Elsa, you need to stop fretting so much." He said, his voice soft but firm, trying to bring her out of the blues. "I'm hardly one to talk; I blamed myself for Heidi's death for months..." He trailed off slightly as he thought of his deceased sister, and tried to think of the few happy times he'd spent with her, not the manner of her passing. He quickly decided to change what he was saying, preferring not to have to re-open up old wounds. "Ignore that - I blamed myself for every little bad thing that happened to her as a child. I ran away from home trying to protect her, because I thought I was dangerous when Arne threatened me, that I was unpredictable - sort of like you thought you were as a kid, with Anna." He paused, then finished off. "The point is, I thought it was all my fault that she'd been hurt, and so I did what I could to try to make it better. Perhaps it didn't have the impact I had hoped it would, but I tried to solve the problem. You did the same, back with Arne and his men; you couldn't quite get them off, but you tried, and you tried your best; no one can ask for more than that."

Elsa tried to agree with Odd, but she knew it was hopeless, and he seemed to as well. "Look," He said in a slightly less soft tone, not cold, but more of a reasoning voice than a reassuring one. "I'm not saying you aren't allowed to feel guilty - I still feel guilty over my sister... Hell, I feel guilty about not getting rid of Arne as a kid, when I had the chance! But I just remember that I tried my best; I went down fighting, and it that makes things seem a little less bad."

Elsa contemplated this quietly for a few seconds, and then nodded in understanding, accepting that what he had said was true; at least she'd tried, though the guilt was still raw and painful for her to think about. She looked back over to her sister after that, and her gaze remained there for a few seconds, before Odd nudged her gently. "How do you think she does it, though?" He asked, and his voice held a tone of genuine interest as he watched his sister in law along with his wife. "She can just push something off so easily, completely ignore it so quickly - I don't see how she does it?"

Elsa gave a tiny smile. "Who knows?" She said, her voice very slightly light-hearted. "This is Anna we're talking about, it would be dangerous to try to understand how her brain works. We might just pass out from how complicated it would be."

Odd chuckled, and so did Kristoff (though his was half-hearted, as he still thought of Sven) as Anna called out from the front of the cave, "I heard that!", now succeeding in waking the children (apart from Mia, who had been awake for hours, but had just pretended not to be). They got up groggily, exhausted from the previous day's walking, and it didn't take much encouragement to get them to curl back up with the animals and rest again.

Elsa smiled slightly at the children, but she felt her anxiety return as Freddie, who was now laying with Lysse, began to cough; Odd quickly took her hand to calm her down.

"It's okay," he whispered, "Kristoff reckons we can take a very slight detour and go to see the trolls before we head back. It's obviously an infection, and it's not like we have any medicine to treat it, but the trolls' magic could help." Elsa nodded at the update, yet she still yearned to go over to Freddie, but eventually decided against it; restless as his sleep was, he was still asleep, and she couldn't risk waking him. Odd smiled at her as she settled down again, relieved that she was a little less nervous now, and went to put his arm around her softly, wanting to keep her close; she was strong, but right now, he wanted to keep her safe. However, just as his hand brushed her back, she suddenly jerked away, letting out a little yelp.

Kristoff and Anna spun around at the noise, watching in confusion, and Odd frowned too as he backed up a little, not wanting to scare her. He originally assumed that she must have thought he wanted to get intimate with her, which had not been his intention at all, because not only were there other people around, but he also remembered what she was like when he'd returned from the Southern Isles when Dagvin had been impersonating him - it had taken at least a month to get her confidence up again, because every time they'd gotten close, she had simply been reminded of the monster.

However, it didn't take long for Odd to realise what had caused Elsa's sudden reaction; he recalled the cruel method of torture which Arne's cronies had used to mark Elsa (and Anna, too), to show that they had 'claimed' them; the same, intricate S.I. shape, which had been burned onto their skin. He immediately felt his anger flare up towards his Father, and as he clenched his fists, he felt a burning desire to get revenge - an eternity in hell for his actions may have made him feel slightly better, but he wished the man could be subjected to some even worse fate. Trying to dig his fingers into the solid rock beneath him, he tried to cool down his anger, but knew he'd remain frustrated for a while now.

"Elsa, your burn-" He said slowly, through gritted teeth, and he could only hope that she didn't notice his tension, in case she took it for him seeing her differently. Thankfully, she didn't. He then turned to his sister-in-law, and looked to Kristoff. "Anna's got one too - we ought to get some sort of healing plant on them to make the scars less prominent, but I don't know of any growing at this time of year. Aloe vera would be good, but I've never seen it in the wild, and it would be best to get it on the burns straight away, not when we return..."

There was a slight pause, and as Elsa crept back slowly, Odd could feel her nervousness and insecurity about the issue, and he couldn't really blame her; the marks _were_ incredibly humiliating. He sighed gently, and pulled her closer, this time wrapping his arm under hers - he didn't hurt the older, few-week old burn (which had healed quite a bit), and was now covered over as Elsa had changed her dress, so that it now hid her shoulders - and the mark upon them - from view.

Kristoff, meanwhile, had been thinking, and then he suddenly looked a little happier - but his posture was still slouched and yearning for his lost friend. "I may be wrong," He began, and he was slightly more enthusiastic when he realised that there may have been a way to help his wife and her sister, "But I think the trolls used Aloe Vera in some of their recipes, when I was a kid... It was bloody disgusting, mind you-" He received a sharp slap from Anna at this as she jerked her head towards the sleeping children, but Kristoff didn't seem all that bothered. "As I was saying, they used to use Aloe Vera in recipes, and who knows - they might just have some. I mean, I can't guarantee anything, but it's possible."

Odd nodded in agreement, his teeth still clenched together and his body was tense in anger, but he tried to act normal (and failed), deciding there was no way he was going to calm down while they waited for the sun to come up fully, to give the children a chance to rest. "I'm going to try and find a few things for a meal," He said slowly as he stood up, and then turned to Kristoff. "Any chance I can get a bit of help?"

Kristoff was about to open his mouth to speak, when Elsa stood up first, and said in as steady a voice as she could muster, "I'll go." She felt a little unsteady on her feet, both weak from hunger - for none of the group had eaten since 'lunch' yesterday, which consisted of a few berries and a single piece of old jerky each - and from uncomfortableness about the topic. "I may as well get my mind off of things," she justified, and Odd nodded.

"Okay, then - we'll try to be back within half an hour. If we're not back... well, don't come looking for us." He said, and then turned to leave, as he thought about how they'd only be looking for him - he'd make sure Elsa got back alright if it killed him.

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**Firstly, I've just realised that reindeer actually lose their antlers during the spring-ish time, so we're going to keep that quiet and pretend they didn't lose their antlers in the 19th century, OK? (Let's just say that they started losing their antlers in the 20th century, much easier...)**

**Second, before anyone comments on how weak Elsa seems at the moment, that's because she _is_ feeling weak; because of her childhood, she always overthinks little things and always feels guilty, and in her opinion, she's let her sister down for not protecting her, she's let Odd down by letting other men take her, and on top of that, she's terrified for Freddie and also for how this will affect the children. What's more, she still feels guilty that Odd and Kristoff had to watch Arne's men take advantage of her and her sister without being able to stop it, and now she's terrified that she and / or Anna could be pregnant with one of their children - after all, there's no reason why they couldn't be! And then Arne could also be hunting them down, so, yeah... She's got a lot on her plate.**

**Lastly, I'm sorry that this chapter was rather uneventful, but you had a better one last week, so cut me some ****slack xD Anyway, I'm sorry if there's mistakes in this chapter; we had two unexpected new baby goats born this morning, so it's been a hectic day and I'm shattered (so it was hard to finish this chapter without falling asleep on the keyboard!)**

**Please review, even if you don't have much to say about the chapter (I get that - it wasn't the most exciting!). Even a 'nice' is appreciated!**

**-SG**


	18. Chapter 18 - dedicated to Pabulover123

_**Kristoff was about to open hi**__**s mouth to speak, when Elsa stood up first, and said in as steady a voice as she could muster, "I'll go." She felt a little unsteady on her feet, both weak from hunger - for none of the group had eaten since 'lunch' yesterday, which consisted of a few berries and a single piece of old jerky each - and from uncomfortableness about the topic. "I may as well get my mind off of things," she justified, and Odd nodded.**_

_**"Okay, then - we'll try to be back within half an hour. If we're not back... well, don't come looking for us." He said, and then turned to leave, as he thought about how they'd only be looking for him - he'd make sure Elsa got back alright if it killed him.**_

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_spartandestroyer: _**Thanks, especially for going to the extra trouble to comment! And I never thought about how perfect disney makes things seem, i guess we need all the dark stories to balance it out xD As for who's pregnant, I agree that if one of them is, it does make most sense for Elsa to be (although I don't think she'll thank me if I go through with it!)**

_ElsaAnnaforlife: _**I'm glad you liked it :) As for longer chapters, I try to keep the chapters above 2500 words minimum, but normally they end up at about 3000-4000 words long. Considering a normal book's chapter is about 5,000 words long, they aren't too bad, but I'll try my best to get them longer if I can - the only thing is, the longer the chapters are, the later I'll have to stay up to write them, and so the more mistakes there may be. It's all about compromise, unfortunately :(**

_Asome (guest)_**: I'm glad the break from the normal madness of my story didn't make the chapter worse - I always get nervous when I post the calm chapters, in case people don't like it. Also, congrats for having your dog for 3 years... I really w****ant a dog, but our house is too small for one so we're not allowed. Hopefully if we can get a house on our farm though, then I'll be allowed one. Finally, as for your reviews being shorter than some others, don't worry about it! I still enjoy reading the reviews, even if they're short!**

_WildVirus (guest):_** Thanks for the review! Firstly, no, I'm not going to stop beating myself up because I'm incredibly self-conscious, but it's reassuring that you said it! As for listening to music as I write, I do sometimes, except I usually end up singing along and then it takes me longer (and I always seem to end up listening to the really dark songs, honestly, I worry myself - for example I'm suddenly in love with 'I can't decide' by the Scissor Sisters, it's old, but I love the music... Unfortunately, it's about killing someone...)**

_thorinii (guest):_ **You're too right about it being a breath of fresh air - that first comment made me smile! As for using a plant from Lord of the Rings... Hmm, I'll think about it... Okay , I thought about it, nah! (Considering I've never read/seen LotR anyway!) As for the trolls removing the scars, I can't quite decide whether you mean the physical scars or mental scars. Either way, I don't think that'll happen - for the memories, I'd say no because I always imagined Anna and Elsa being very against the idea of it, after what happened to Anna as a kid (your experiences, no matter how bad, are a part of who you are, after all). If you meant physical scars, then I'd probably also say no; I don't really understand how the trolls' magic works, but I don't think they have healing powers, or at least not much, so that won't happen. Maybe they'll be able to remove the pain or something, though. **

_KLime (guest): _**You made me laugh when you said that Elsa needed a therapist - it's certainly true though! You're right - her family will just have to step in in the meantime! Also, about the S.I. branding, it was mentioned before, when you commented that you didn't see why a second branding was necessary - now that you know about it, I'm hoping the second brand seems less random and you can understand what it implies (yes, it does stand for Southern Isles). As for Odd's ability to calm down, you're right that there are so many reminders of how sick his father is, but in some ways those reminders are also what encourages him to try to at least be a little less angry, because he's looking out for the ones who he loves and who were hurt by Arne. As for Elsa's anxiety in daily life, she would be a little more nervous; I don't imagine she'd ever hug herself as she walks, ****but she would be quite jumpy, suspicious and, especially with the new brands, very self-conscious about them. I daresay she won't be wearing the off-the-shoulder dress anymore!**

_pabulover123:_ **First off, you're correct in the way you say that new days bring new opportunities, and freedom. Also, you're right - the trolls are _exactly_ who they need to see right now... You'll have to keep reading to find out exactly what I mean by that.**

_OmegaLover:_** Well, I'm glad that it wasn't a horrid chapter then! As for Arne catching up, who knows... he could be anywhere in the forest by now, so whether he'll run into them or not, you'll have to wait and see, hmm? Although you can bet that if they do stumble across each other, Odd won't be best pleased to see him (well, none of them would be, but you get the idea). As for Elsa needing to let it go, she probably ought to, but then she probably won't either! ;) As for Sven being okay, I won't say anything yet, but you'll have to wait at least a few chapters to find out anything about his situation!**

_Aggsun (guest):_** Don't worry about not reviewing sooner - I love all my readers, and all my reviewers especially for helping me keep updating, whether they're new or old reviewers!**

_MRachel (guest):_** Hey! I'm glad you enjoyed having a bit of a break from the constant danger - it's kind of refreshing for me to be able to write calmer ones from time to time, as well, as it gives me time to expand on the Frozen Powers world and more time to think of possible events. As for which day I update, I always try to update on late Friday UK time, although I'm not sure what time that is for you.**

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The soft sound of hoof steps on slightly damp leaves, not quite dried out by the weak February sun, sounded as the pair made their way carefully through the forests on horseback, travelling at a steady pace, but both were far from calm as they carefully monitored the area around them. Their eyes scanned their surroundings constantly, looking out for any evidence of Arne and his men; they listened intently for any danger signs, both when they were talking, and when they remained quiet. The modest warmth of the sun helped calm their nerves a little and make them more relaxed, but on the whole, without the reassurance of safety in numbers, they were quite tense and jumpy. The horses, sensing their riders' alert states, were also sharp and high-strung. To say that Elsa's plan of taking her mind off of things had failed was an understatement, to say the least.

"What are we actually doing out here, Odd?" Elsa asked her husband quietly, realising something which she hadn't thought of before, careful not to speak too loudly incase there was anyone - or, of course, anything - dangerous near. "We'll never be able to catch anything - we haven't got any weapons with us, and I know that I'll never be able to make anything strong enough with my powers with these gloves on still!" She held the reins in one hand as she gestured to Odd with the other, displaying one of her palms, where swelling and redness around her wrist from the stitches was now becoming obvious as well.

"You're not going to like me," Odd said slowly, but as he said that, he began to feel a little calmer, smiling very slightly. "but I'm trying to find that stream we went through last night."

Elsa was quiet for a second, before she let out a little groan. "Oh, no - you're going to catch us fish for breakfast, aren't you?" She accused under her breath, and Odd nodded, still smiling slightly; Elsa, in turn, had to suppress an urge to run on ahead, find the river and completely freeze it over. "You know how much I hate fish!"

"Of course I do." Odd assured his wife, his green eyes gleaming a little with amusement, which seemed strange considering how serious he'd been a second before; the moment's relief from being so focused was unexpected but pleasant. "But it's the easiest thing to catch in this situation, so you'll just have to eat it."

Elsa let out a slight breath of annoyance. "You're loving this, aren't you?" She said grumpily, as she imagined the distinct smell of fish which she so hated, ever since Anna, as a child, had filled her bedroom with the stinking food as a punishment for locking her out. Perhaps the young Princess been trying to force Elsa to stay out of her 'sanctuary', too, but she had never thought to ask her sister what, exactly, her motives had been. After all these years, she probably wouldn't even remember.

"Of course not!" Odd said teasingly with a little grin, "What sort of man do you take me for? I'm just making sure you get some food..."

"Yeah, yeah. You've been trying to convince me to eat fish for ages- this is a prime opportunity for you!" Elsa shot back with a small scowl, but then she let out a sigh, and finally even smiled in resignation before laughing very quietly, and Odd felt triumphant. He knew that in their current situation, Elsa - or anyone, really - would, in the end, accept any food given to her, whether she absolutely hated the sight of it or not, but to get her accepting of the idea was an accomplishment. "I guess I really don't have much choice, do I?"

Odd gently kicked on Brandy Shot, who was getting sluggish, as he replied, "Not really," in a light-hearted tone. Elsa smiled back at him, but couldn't help adding, "Of all the foods in the world..." in an undertone, as she tried to think about how nice it would be to have a full stomach, and not of what she would have to eat to achieve it.

The next few minutes were quiet again as both Odd and Elsa watched and listened out for the stream, their ears trying to find any tell-tale gurgle of the water. The pair were a little calmer now than they had been before, not so paranoid of an ambush now that they'd had a moment of relief which had helped to diffuse some of their nerves. Odd, especially, was even more confident now, finally starting to feel more relaxed in the forest landscape which had been a place of safety for him as a child. However, Arne had never had any interest in him back then; now, though, he was valuable for his relationship with Elsa, so he couldn't feel quite at ease still. It wasn't such a refuge for him now, but once he'd let down his guard just a little, he felt slightly comforted by the familiar scenery.

When the gentle lapping of falling water came into earshot, the two horses sped up, both eager to get a drink and eat, and their riders grinned at each other too, happy to have managed to locate their goal; it didn't take much longer to find the little stream, and it didn't disappoint, either. Though not teeming with fish, it wasn't too hard to locate small groups of young trout, darting about in the slowly flowing water, and Odd looked pleased.

"Elsa," He said quietly, as he slowly hopped off of Brandy's back and crept to the water's edge, "Can you make a little wall of ice around those fish there?"

Elsa looked at the river carefully, and then frowned. "I don't think so - I'd end up freezing the whole stream." She said with a sigh, "Sorry."

Odd shook his head, not really minding. "That's fine - it would have been a little easier, but... well, I think I can manage to grab a few still. I haven't fished by hand in ages though - even when I lived in the forests, I used a knife to kill them first. Fish are slippery little things to grab hold of otherwise."

Elsa thought for a minute, and suggested that she could try to make a blade which would easily go through fish skin, if not strong enough to kill a larger animal, but Odd had to turn her offer down; the trout were small, only about five or six inches long, so would be hard to hit one with a fine blade in an appropriate place. As he stepped into the shallow water, the little creatures gathered around his ankles and he was tempted to try and reach down and grab one suddenly, but didn't want to scare all the others off. Even one trout per person wouldn't really be enough food, but it was going to be a struggle to catch that many as it was.

"What if I could make some sort of barrier?" Elsa suggested, and Odd nearly jumped, having gone into his own world for a second.

"Huh?" He asked quickly, and a few of the fish scattered at the sudden noise, but didn't go too far.

"I could make a barrier." Elsa repeated, "Like you wanted before, but I'd have to just make it out of the water and put it in the stream after. Then the fish couldn't get away."

Odd's face lit up at the suggestion. "How on earth didn't I think of that?" He said incredulously, and grinned, looking down at the still water, where the young fish were still swimming around slowly, oblivious to their fate; with a little difficulty, Elsa managed to make four thin, slightly rough walls of ice and handed it to Odd gently, who bent down slowly so as not to scare the trout, and then hurriedly submerged the ice square, managing to trap a few unfortunate ones.

They began to swim around quickly, suddenly scared, and Odd slowly placed his hands in the water, holding them together and trying to move them towards his prey, but to no avail, the little fish avoiding him easily. Elsa laughed as he struggled, and came over to try and help, placing her own hands in the water, and hastily following the little fish as they darted about, laughing at the impossibility of the task, and she almost cheered when she managed to get her hands underneath one and throw it out of the water and onto the land, though its slimy body made her cringe.

"Good one!'' Odd said cheerfully, but luckily not too loudly, now completely forgetting that they could have been followed as he stole her tactic, also managing to grab himself a fish. Elsa patted him on the back with her wet hands, and as he got up to fetch the two fish, she rose too; that is, she tried to get up, until her heel caught on a loose rock behind her, and she fell forward, straight into the cold water of the stream. Laughing more, she sat back up, now soaking wet, and looked sheepishly over to Odd, who was also chuckling along with her, as he came back over to help her up.

"You're getting worse than your sister," He teased, and Elsa scowled playfully, gently accepting his hand and freezing it over in revenge. Odd gasped at the sudden cold, and was quick to try and get the ice off. "I take it back!" He amended, and Elsa giggled slightly at her triumph. He shook his head at her in amusement, as she stood up on her toes and gently kissed his cheek, before she noticed something.

"Odd..." She said slowly, though she couldn't help the grin on her face. "Where did the fish go?"

"No idea - I can't tell where they landed." He replied, grinning slightly still, and Elsa groaned, looking back to the stream.

"Third time lucky?" She asked, and Odd nodded, although he stayed still for a second, and then got another idea.

"Wait a second..." He said, and looked at the stream, contemplating, and then grinned. "You said if you tried to freeze a single wall in the water, you'd end up freezing the whole stream?"

Elsa nodded as she began to wring out her sopping wet hair, considering. "Well, I might have exaggerated a bit, but I wouldn't be able to just freeze a single bit. Not with these gloves on, at the very least."

Odd grinned. "That could be useful!" He said, as he leaned up against a tree on the river bank. "If you could freeze a block of the river, then maybe some fish would be trapped inside. If we could get it up onto the grass, then you could thaw it and... Yeah."

"That just might work..." Elsa said eagerly, and stepped a little closer to the stream, looking out for the fish which had now all dispersed. Noticing a small group of three, swimming right in the middle of the shallow stream, she concentrated carefully before willing the water to freeze over, and, to both her and Odd's delight, it managed to trap the trout in the ice. Quickly stopping her powers before the ice spread too far, she slowly went over and picked it up, having to get help from Odd to lift the heavy block, before she placed it down on the grass and melted it.

The water spilled onto the grass, seeping down into the earth, and the small fish which had been trapped inside flopped about on the floor wildly, wanting to get back into the stream, and Elsa couldn't help but feel sorry for the little things. As Odd came over, rock in hand, and delivered the final blow to each one, she felt a little relief that they didn't suffer any more, but when she realised that they had some breakfast, she couldn't help but feel happy at the promise of food.

"Come on, then." Odd said, once he'd put the fish in a small ice-bag which Elsa had made. "We said we'd be half an hour, and I think we've been longer than that, so we'd better get a move on."

A few minutes later, the pair had managed to catch four more fish, leaving them with seven in total, nearly enough for one for each person, and by now their stomachs were growling chronically loudly from hunger; even Elsa was looking forwards to the meal, after not having eaten much at all for an almost-entire day. Except for a few scavenged berries here and there, none of the group had really had much to eat, so the fish would probably taste incredible, even for her.

"You ready to go?" Odd asked, as he came out of a clearing he'd disappeared into not long before, and in his hands, he held a hollowed-out piece of bark. Elsa nodded in response to his question, but she eyed the wood in confusion, and was left even more puzzled when she realised that it was entirely filled with sap.

Odd noticed her looks, and smiled at her. "Pine tree sap's good for wounds," he explained, as he lifted his chin and gestured to the fairly deep gash across his neck which had, thankfully, stopped bleeding by now, although was still very fresh and exposed. As he jumped up onto Brandy's back, he gathered the reins up with one hand and held tightly onto the wood with the other. "It stops it from getting infected, and stops bleeding too - although my neck isn't bleeding any more." He paused for a minute, and smiled. "I'll put some on your burns, if you'd like? They could get infected otherwise, especially the newer one. I'm not sure if the older one would, but it's better safe than sorry. And there's enough for Anna too."

Elsa immediately stiffened at the mention of her two brands, and she suddenly noticed the way her lower back throbbed, and how her shoulder ached slightly. She nodded stiffly, and pushed her horse to walk faster, and Odd sighed when he noticed her reaction to it. He gently urged Brandy into a trot to make up the short distance quicker, and reached over to Elsa, now holding the reins in the same hand as the bowl, and gently squeezing her non-injured shoulder, but this only caused her to tense up more.

Odd was about to say something to her, but then he suddenly sat up straighter as he heard something snap behind him. Looking around, he tried to relax when he saw nothing, but by the way Brandy had suddenly tightened up, he could tell that not everything was right. Elsa, too, seemed to realise something wasn't right, and then she let out a little yelp as she glanced across Odd's shoulder; in amongst the trees, not too far away, was the distinct shape of a man, sat upon a horse, only a silhouette in the early-morning sun. The person's face spun towards them, and both Elsa and Odd gasped as they began coming towards them at a trot.

"Go, go!" Odd whispered, and immediately kicked Brandy Shot into a rapid walk, then quickly up to a flat out gallop, with Elsa loping hurriedly by his side. The horses' hooves pounded at the leafy ground as they fled quickly, hearts beating rapidly with adrenaline-fueled urgency, eyes sharp and ears hearing every little sound. In the distance, the person yelled, but there was no way to hear them over the thunderous beating of the animals as they raced away.

"Odd!" Elsa called over the noise, "Over here!" She turned her gelding so that he leaped over a hedge, with Odd following soon after, and they galloped a little further before turning sharply around to hide behind a large rocky outcrop. They stood up against the stone closely, both horses and riders breathing heavily as they listened out for their pursuer, trying to be quiet.

A little less than a minute passed, and then the pursuer drew nearer; the man galloped straight past, his steed turning his head slightly to look towards the rocky outcrop on the right, but the rider paid no attention to it, as he continued on.

"Your Majesties! Please, slow down!"

Elsa peered out as the man galloped past, and she suddenly felt rather foolish as she noticed the green uniform he wore, and the distinctly shaved mark upon the horse's flank of the Arendelle crest. She watched as he ran off, and groaned.

"It was just one of the new guards..." Elsa murmured, frowning. "We're too jumpy."

Odd nodded in agreement, but remained silent for a second. "Well," he said slowly, "At least it's better to be safe than sorry, eh?"

"I guess so..." Elsa said quietly, then gently pushed her gelding up into a steady trot. "Come on- let's get back, get some breakfast and then go see the trolls. We'll never be able to catch up the guard now anyway."

* * *

"Elsa, won't you please just let me put some sap on your burn? Anna let Kristoff." Odd said, feeling slightly dejected, although he understood how much more sensitive the poor Queen was than her younger, more rambunctious sister. Elsa sighed and, upon hearing the sadness in his voice, slowly thawed away the shoulders on her ice dress to reveal the older burn; it had now healed quite well, the scab having almost all come off, leaving just the raw, dark pink skin behind, and on top of her pale shoulder, the brand was obvious.

Elsa shrunk down a little in embarrassment, as she drew her knees up to her chest and rocked slightly in nervousness, feeling so worthless. From the middle of the cave, where a rather un-enthusiastic Kristoff had gotten a fire going to cook the fish, Anna - who was currently gutting the fish with a look of disgust - smiled at her warmly, trying to reassure her, and Odd wrapped one arm around her shoulder as he gently used his finger to paint some of the sap onto the burn. Small tears rolled down Elsa's face as he did so, and though she knew that no one judged her for it, she still felt so horrible, so guilty, and couldn't help but fear that her husband, her sister, her brother in law, her son, her nieces and nephews and her people would turn away from her in revulsion.

She struggled to thaw away a hole in the back of her dress as she repaired the shoulder to hide the old burn, feeling even worse as she finally managed it, revealing the newer burn, the even more humiliating one. She whimpered quietly and tried to inch further into the shadows, but Odd gently put his hand on her good shoulder to keep her still. Ice began to coat the walls and floor of the cave as Elsa grew increasingly upset, and even when Anna abandoned her project and came over, it still didn't thaw; if anything, it got even worse as she began to feel even more humiliated and weak.

"Elsa..." Anna muttered, but her older sister didn't hear her, as she continued to get worse, beginning to mumble quietly under her breath, 'Conceal, don't feel. Conceal, don't feel..." When Odd tried to take her hand, she flinched and jumped back, letting out a muffled yell of fear and scampering backwards, as ice suddenly jutted out from all angles, large spears of it which expanded in all directions and came frighteningly close to everyone in the room. And then, just as suddenly as she had begun to break down, she began to calm down, and then collapsed on the floor, asleep.

Anna let out a breath which she didn't even realise she had been holding before she went over to check on the children, who were now all awake and alert - even the still-sickly Fredrik - with Kristoff following soon after, and Odd smiled in relief as he crawled over to Elsa slowly, and tenderly touched her hand. She let out a quiet murmur of contentedness in her sleep, and he then reached out more boldly, intwining his fingers with hers, and she clutched on instinctively to him. Pulling the little sap left in the bark bowl over to him, he gently spread some on top of her second brand, making her squirm a little, and he squeezed her hand tightly as he felt himself growing angry again, feeling sickened at his - well, he wouldn't call him Father - for what he'd allowed his men to do.

Trying to ignore the frustration, he picked Elsa up and, with difficulty from a lack of energy resulting from both lack of food and good sleep, he pulled her up into his lap, and held her there. She was a little taller than him, so that she managed to rest her head on top of his shoulder, but he didn't mind, finding the comforting contact of her cool skin helped to cool down some of his own fury towards his

There was silence in the cave for the next few minutes, as Anna finished - with much displeasure - gutting the little fish, and Kristoff cooked them, which took hardly any time at all, considering their size. Mia made rough, slightly spiky icy plates with her magic, the gloves still a hindrance for her too, and once the fish had all cooled down, everyone was handed one each, with Freddie having just a little bit of everyone's to make up a tiny meal for him as well, though he looked un-keen on the idea of eating. The fever had really taken its toll on him; the rest of them had lost weight, but none to quite the same extent as the poor boy.

Odd and Anna worked together to slowly rouse Elsa, who, though bleary, managed to eat a few mouthfuls of the trout, which was an achievement, considering how much the smell alone got to her, let alone the taste and texture. Anna apologised sheepishly, knowing where her sister's hatred of fish had originated, and Elsa glared at her playfully, though it was hard to know she was being light-hearted, for her face only really showed her exhaustion. She'd been fighting it before, and Elsa had always been good at hiding her emotions - she'd spent thirteen years doing so, after all - and it was only when things got so heavy that she finally caved.

"Hey, go back to sleep," Odd said quietly, and Elsa nodded with gratitude, forgetting her previous uncertainties as her eyes slid shut easily. She rested her head back on his shoulder, so that she could feel his hair softly tickling her cheek, and it made her smile slightly as she settled down, not even noticing that her dress still had a thawed hole in the back of it.

Once everyone had finished their fish - or in Freddie's case, picked at it a little - they slowly got up and got ready to go, Odd helping to support Elsa as she walked tiredly, her feet now dragging, at it was amazing how she'd seemed so perky earlier on; of course, tiredness does have a habit of springing up at random times. They arranged themselves into little groups for riding, with Mia and Kari riding a very grumpy Lysse, who also ended up having to carry Seier as well; Kristoff and Freddie riding Elsa's gelding, High Flyer; Anna and Thomas riding Misty; and finally, Odd and a still-sleeping Elsa riding Brandy Shot, who was jumpy from the run that morning, and from the extra grass.

The group travelled at a brisk walk, all of them acutely aware of the fact that stopping for a rest the previous night, and spending so much time at the cave that morning, would have given Arne and his men plenty of time to catch up; Odd was especially aware of this, after being found chased earlier on, even if it had only been one of the new guards, whom Elsa had hired at the start of the year, to replace some of the small group of people who had, rather mysteriously, gone missing at the end of the year, including the royal advisor, a number of guards and a group of maids and servants. Numerous searches had been planned to try and find them, but they had never found them.

The journey to the Trolls' Valley didn't take too long, no more than two hours at the most, and the excitement which their appearance caused was second to none, as every single one of the creatures gathered around the Royals eagerly, having heard of their disappearance too.

"Kristoff's home!" The cry was deafening, and Elsa groaned, the noise almost giving her a headache, and Odd had to cover her ears until the commotion died down. The trolls all fussed over the children, making sure they were okay, while Bulda and her husband tried, in vain, to get Kristoff to take off his clothes so that they could wash them - of course, no one really minded his refusal.

After another half an hour or so, Grand Pabbie finally showed up from his nap; rolling over to Kristoff, he nodded his head in greeting, then asked, "What brings you here today, my boy?" Kristoff frowned a little, and then suddenly remembered why they were actually there.

"Oh, right, uh..." He began awkwardly, tripping over his words in a way which would make Anna proud, suddenly terrified that the Trolls may not be able to help his nephew. "Well, little Freddie here got shot in the arm, and it... it's become really infected. Is there anything you can, you know, do to get rid of the infection?" Grand Pabbie was silent for a moment in thought, and so Kristoff continued. "We also need some Aloe Vera, if you have any left from that Aloe soup you used to make. That's all - we're going to go back to Arendelle straight away afterwards, because we need to get back obviously."

Grand Pabbie's expression grew solemn, and there was a sadness in the eyes of both him, and all the trolls nearby. Anna quickly picked up on this, and tried to remedy the situation.

"We can come back after though, maybe the day after we get home! I mean, Lord knows I need a bath, and some clean clothes and stuff, but we can come back straight after that! Don't be sad!"

The Trolls, however, didn't look uplifted at all by this comment. Grand Pabbie was the first to speak. "I'm sorry, Kristoff, Anna..." He said slowly, as if he couldn't work out how to say what he had to. "But... It is impossible."

Anna frowned, and Odd took the moment to step forward. He knew the Trolls didn't know him that well, but he couldn't stand not saying anything. "What do you mean, Grand Pabbie?" He asked in concern, and the wise old Troll looked to him slowly, holding his gaze for a few seconds before responding.

"Your Majesty," he began, and Odd shifted uncomfortably at the title which he still felt uncomfortable being referred to by, but it was nothing compared to what he said next. "You cannot return. You cannot go back to Arendelle."

* * *

**Hahaha! I bet no-one saw that coming! I am so evil!**

**Anyway, did anyone else know pine sap is good for wounds and burns? It helps stem blood flow and prevent infection! (All these things I learn writing this fic...). **

**Well, I haven't got much else to say, but thanks so much for all the comments last chapter - I felt so loved! 3 Keep it up, guys - even if you just say 'Nice' or even 'Horrible', it makes my day to just get feedback (but if you don't like it, there's not much point just saying rubbish because, let's face it, it'll never get any better that way. Unless you're a troll, in which case it would make sense to just say that because that's what trolls do).**

**Also, a quick update - the baby goats are fine! They're still tiny - much too tiny - but they've gotten stronger and at least they've stopped trying to get milk from their Mum's front end (if you haven't guessed yet, that didn't work very well). Another thing, we got two more born yesterday (it's crazy, they're a week younger and still double the size) and another little boy this evening! Fingers crossed they'll all be okay.**

**I'll see you next Friday,**

**-SG**


	19. Chapter 19 - dedicated to anniGirl93

_**The Trolls, however, didn't look uplifted at all by this comment. Grand Pabbie was the first to speak. "I'm sorry, Kristoff, Anna..." He said slowly, as if he couldn't work out how to say what he had to. "But... It is impossible."**_

_**Anna frowned, and Odd took the moment to step forward. He knew the Trolls didn't know him that well, but he couldn't stand not saying anything. "What do you mean, Grand Pabbie?" He asked in concern, and the wise old Troll looked to him slowly, holding his gaze for a few seconds before responding.**_

_**"Your Majesty," he began, and Odd shifted uncomfortably at the title which he still felt uncomfortable being referred to by, but it was nothing compared to what he said next. "You cannot return. You cannot go back to Arendelle."**_

* * *

_KLime (guest): _**Firstly, yes, it would be quite a hindrance if Elsa did feel the cold, wouldn't it! I won't lie - I was originally going to have Odd falling in the stream, but then I realised how that may not have been the best idea. Also, I, myself, definitely agree with Elsa - fish is disgusting! Next, you mentioned about what will happen when the Guard returns with news, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait a few chapters to find out! As for Ayla showing up soon... perhaps, perhaps ;) Finally, you mentioned that I called Pabbie by two names, which was a mistake, so thanks for the tip-off - it's not easy when I haven't got a beta xD And I'm glad you didn't mind the mainly ElsaxOdd focus!**

_Aggsun (guest): _**There's a little bit of Hans and Ayla in this chapter, I'm **

**hoping to have a longer chapter for them soon.**

_Asome (guest):_ **Ahaa, sorry for making you wait, aren't I evil? And as for a week of no school, lucky for some... I've had to go back this week, sad times. Also, Freddie's Elsa's son, just to clear up confusion. Also, that little creed is quite funny, well done 3**

ElsaAnnaforlife: **I'm happy you like it! As for doing a big explanation, maybe not a massive one, but this chapter has got an explanation. And you said you originally thought Pabbie was saying that Freddie couldn't be healed, while I won't promise anything, there is something they can do to help...**

_Pabulover123__**: **_**Yes, it is important for everyone to have healing time, perhaps Odd and Elsa especially - Elsa's obviously the most sensitive, and Odd probably feels responsible, considering Arne is ****his own**** father. As for your second comment, it seems you may have just hit the nail on the head there...**

_OmegaMarker:_ **I'm glad you liked the fishing scene - I really wanted a nice, lighthearted one again. And hahaa, it is strange to think about pine tree sap being so useful, I still have no idea how I even stumbled across that little fact! As for your assumptions with Ayla, you may be onto something there, I'm actually amazed that so many people figured something wasn't' right. As for the trolls healing Freddie... Well, I won't lie, no, they can't heal him, but they can help a little... You'll have to just read on and see, eh?**

_anniGirl93: _**Dictators in Arendelle, you say? Well, not quite, but... Well, all will be revealed soon! As for being glad that we're out of the dark stage, I won't lie, I am ****too xD I find the chapters (worryingly) more easy to write, but it makes me feel bad too (and I dread being hunted down by reviewers who hate my guts for hurting the characters as well!)**

_WildVirus (guest):_ **Heya! Firstly, about Elsa, Anna and everyone trying to get their land back... I won't say too much yet, but it will be a long process. Second, yeah, I feel the same way, I think my Mum's getting concerned when I prance around the house singing, _"I can't decide whether you should live or die!" _ Teehee... I hope she knows it's a real song xD**

* * *

Odd stiffened as his brain registered the words, not quite understanding, not wanting to believe the words of the wise old troll before him, and Elsa, who was stood on shaky legs from exhaustion next to Brandy Shot, had to lean heavily on him to stop herself from collapsing. Kristoff frowned at Pabbie, not willing to accept what he had said as he stepped a little closer to Anna, as if he believed that hiding her from view would somehow hide her from hearing the truth; she, in turn, stood a little taller and folded her arms defiantly, scowling. The children all watched on silently, Kari, Thomas and Freddie

"Is that some kind of joke?" She said, "Because it's really not funny."

Grand Pabbie shook his head slowly. "I am sorry, Anna - I am not teasing you, as much as I am sure you wish that I was." He paused slowly to take a breath, and continued carefully, not wishing to hurt anyone more than he had to. "In your... absence from your Kingdom, the royal advisor stepped up to take control. It has been reported to the people that your bodies were found in the wilderness a matter of days ago, torn to shreds by wolves." Elsa gasped quietly, and Anna followed her lead soon after as Kristoff and Odd both clenched their fists in anger, and even the animals sensed that something was wrong; Misty, Brandy Shot and High Flyer all shook their heads nervously, and Lysse let out a small bleat as she pawed the ground, and kicked her rear leg out once, twice in frustration.

"But... why would they do that?" Elsa asked wearily, as she walked slowly over to her family, her feet dragging a little across the floor, and leaned upon Odd's shoulder for support. "There's no way that they could make that assumption, surely? Perhaps if they found one body, it may have been a fair mistake to make, if the corpse was maimed so much, but to find eight which could all fit our descriptions..."

Anna nodded enthusiastically with a scowl upon her face, and Kari huffed slightly in aggravation from where she was sat, not understanding what her Aunt had just said. Mia was quick to inform her in simpler terms, and the younger girl - along with Freddie and Thomas who had overhead - frowned, not capable of grasping why anyone would want to fake their deaths.

Kristoff was the first to speak up. "What about the people?" He said cautiously, praying that there could be some hope for the situation. "What did they say upon seeing the bodies?"

"They never saw the bodies," Grand Pabbie explained, looking at them all with sorrow, "They were told that you were in too bad a state to see, were told that it made even the strongest guard cringe. That was, as I mentioned, a few days ago... I believe they are holding a funeral service for you and your family later this morning."

Odd clenched his fists, and Kristoff's eyes glinted; the twins and Freddie recognised the severity of the matter and frowned - or in Kari's case, pouted grumpily at the unfairness of it all - ; Anna clenched her fists, as if ready to punch someone, and Elsa stood taller, determined to get back to her kingdom, and give her people the truth.

"We are going back, now." She said firmly, pushing herself away from Odd, stumbling a little but regaining her balance as her vision blurred from her exhaustion. "We should be able to get back not long after our... funeral, and we'll get this misunderstanding sorted out."

Anna nodded confidently, her face showing her resolve to return home. Her bright blue eyes shone with conviction, and her lips were thin with enmity towards the Advisor for his actions. Elsa was quick to note her sister's anger and reached over to her, placing her gloved hand upon her shoulder and spinning her around; Anna looked at her incredulously, wondering whatever was the matter.

"Now, Anna... You can't just assume straight away that this was a purposeful event..." She said gently, but Odd was quick to step in.

"Elsa, you've got to admit, this whole thing seems set up; you even said yourself that to mistake eight people would have been ridiculous!'' He protested, and Kristoff murmured his agreement while Anna loudly made her own concurrence known. Elsa wanted to argue her case, not wanting to believe that one of her most trusted employees could have been against her the whole time, but Grand Pabbie was eventually the one to close the matter.

"Your Majesty," he began, rolling the few metres over to her, "Though I do not know the truth, I can make a safe assumption that this situation has, indeed, been planned. There is, as you said, Elsa, very little chance that they could have mistaken so many people for being you. Furthermore, what are the chances that eight people would have died just when you disappeared? It does seem rather suspicious to me."

Odd's eyes darkened as he read between the lines of what the troll had said. "So you're saying that whatever happened, the Advisor - Tristan, I think his name was? - has done something barbaric. He's either faked our deaths, and will simply weigh down our coffins with rocks, or..." He didn't need to finish his sentence for everyone to understand what he meant, and even Kari, Thomas and Freddie could guess what Odd had been trying to say.

Elsa looked a little flustered at this, before she finally sighed. "Okay, I admit it does seem unlikely that the Advisor is completely guilt-free, but surely that's all the more reason for us to return to the Kingdom quickly?"

Odd did nod at this, understanding where she was coming from, but Kristoff caught on to what Pabbie meant when he said that they could return, and he shook his head. "We can't." He said, and Anna looked his way sharply, glaring at him for saying so. He was quick to justify himself, as he said, "Just think about it- if he's organised all of this, then Tristan must have plans, with us out of the way. If we just turned up, I doubt we'd be greeted with open arms."

Pabbie nodded. "I am sorry to say that Kristoff is, indeed, correct. While I do not know that what I am saying now is correct, it is more than likely; I fear that if you were to return to your kingdom, you would be putting yourself in great danger. Surely if your Royal Advisor is looking to get you out of the way, and if he's knowingly faking your deaths, then he will have taken precautions too. There would be guards staged around the kingdom, and we," here he gestured to his fellow trolls, and they nodded enthusiastically, "have seen a few scouting through the forests too. I highly doubt they would hesitate to use their swords and crossbows once they saw you."

Elsa thought back to when she and Odd had been followed by the guard the previous day, and she frowned as she suddenly felt the exhaustion take back the control of her body and she rested upon her husband's shoulder again. "We were chased by a new Guard yesterday. I just assumed that he wanted us to return home, but..." She sighed quietly. "Maybe he had anterior motives."

"He did seem extremely eager to catch us up," Odd commented, recalling the chase the day before as well. "It would certainly explain why- if he'd just been trying to find us, he'd probably not have followed, considering he would have seen that we weren't going to wait up for him, but if he was on an assassination mission… well, do I need to say any more, really?"

Anna's confident exterior was now all but gone, and her bright blue eyes were slightly less enthusiastic than they had been before, the previous shine of determination gone from the orbs. She sighed in resignation, and hung her head. "So we can't go home, then?" She asked quietly, reiterating the words of Pabbie in a heavy, monolithic tone, feeling incredibly disheartened as the wave of disappointment washed over her. The very thought that her people thought her and her family to be dead made her blood boil, but the knowledge that trying to fix the situation would result in their actual deaths hurt even more. It was at times like these when she was glad she wasn't Queen; poor Elsa must have been dealing with the same battle as Anna, but on an even more personal level.

"I am sorry, Anna, but you are correct. You are, however, welcome here as long as you would like, and I would recommend you stay a little while to regain your strength. In the meantime, I will see what I can do to help you reclaim your Kingdom; it certainly won't be as easy as strolling in and asking for it, but I will see what I can think of none-the-less.

The group nodded quietly, and as Pabbie rolled them away, the trolls, now somber too, led them to a small area of the valley where lush grass grew, despite the cold February weather, where they could rest. The rich, fresh smell was comforting and delicate, and it didn't take long for all the children, including Mia, to fall into a peaceful nap, while their parents lay down and simply watched the sky above, quietly.

Perhaps thirty minutes later, a few of the trolls returned, giving the group the chance to have a warm bath, an offer which they were all to happy to accept, desperate to rid themselves of grime and grease which came from weeks of being locked up underground, and then rushing through the forests. The water, which turned out to be a hot spring, was relaxing and extremely pleasant, and helped to soothe most of the adults' worries; Mia felt calmed at the luxury of warmth, and she too relaxed a little, and Kari and Thomas completely embraced the treat, ending up having a water fight between themselves. Freddie was supported by Elsa at the edge of the pool, and though still sickly, he looked slightly more comfortable and a little less pale.

The trolls were more than hospitable, bustling about to try to keep their guests (who were also family, of course) comfortable. They brought the group food as often as possible, desperate to get a little fat on their malnourished bodies, and gave them a constant supply of water, too, flavoured subtly with wild berries. The animals were fawned over by the young trolls, who all absolutely adored them - Lysse being the favourite in Sven's absence - and they were kept well cared for too.

After a few hours, Grand Pabbie returned, having worked out a course of action, and before announcing his plan, he was able to help strengthen Freddie's immune system with his magic, though he was unable to help any more than that. The poor boy almost cried as he instantly began to feel a little less sickly, and gave the wise troll a massive hug before slinking back into the corner and falling asleep once more, still not right.

After helping Freddie, an action which made the Queen beam at him in gratitude, he rolled over to where the adults were now sat and nodded at them by way of greeting.

"I'm not sure what your Advisor's motives are for wanting control in Arendelle," he stated, "But I believe I know where you should start."

* * *

"Oh, for heavens sake, Hans!" Ayla snapped in exasperation, "The boy's five years old; he's stupid! He doesn't know any better, let's face it. There's no need to blow a fuse- just punish him and cool off."

Hans let out a groan of frustration. "Honestly, I'd have thought my own son would have some ounce of self-preservation, but no- he just has to go breaking all the rules, every five minutes!" His voice was low, but his anger was obvious. "I can't even find him half of the time anymore; he keeps hiding from me with his magic."

Ayla rolled her eyes. "He's experimenting, Hans. Seeing what he can get away with." She said, as if talking to a child herself. "You need to gain his respect, and constantly shouting at him won't work. He respects me because I'm fair - or, he thinks so at least. I'll shout at him, slap him but then forget it happened, which is why he likes me so much more than you. You'll hold a grudge for weeks."

Hans huffed. "Say I try your method out, then; how should I go about it?"

"Just go up to him, give him a sharp slap and scold him. That's enough- just tell him not to do it again afterwards." She told him, and Hans nodded stiffly, looking less than pleased at having to hold back.

It didn't take long for him to reach Seth's room, and he gave a harsh, loud knock on the door, which was answered with a squeak of "Come in,". Hans entered the room quickly, and - for once - his target had not resorted to hiding with camouflage.

"H-hello, Sir." He muttered quietly, knowing that he must have done something wrong if Hans had paid him a visit. In turn, the older Prince was quick to frown upon his unwanted son's lack of courage, and knew he'd have to break the habit of being timid.

"You went outside today, Seth, did you not? Out into the village?" He fought to keep his voice level as he spoke, trying not to shout passionately. "In fact, you snuck out through the passage in my own bedchamber."

Seth originally considered denying the accusations, but then realised that doing so would only bring him more trouble, and he nodded stiffly, lowering his head and closing his eyes in terrified readiness. The blow came hard, as he'd expected, this time a harsh, satisfying slap - _thwap - _upon his derrière which made him almost cry out in pain- almost. He'd learnt not to do so long ago, but he'd never been able to resist the temptation of going into the village.

Seth cowered as he waited for more to come, but they didn't, and he risked a peak as Hans began to stand straighter again.

"Now tell me, boy- why did you want to go outside, insolent child?" Hans demanded, and the harsh tone made Seth wince, but he much preferred it to a beating.

"I just got bored and... I wanted to know if I could get outside. With my powers, because it's fun to sneak around." He finished off simply, before he realised what he'd said and his eyes widened. "I don't sneak around the castle, though."

"You'do better not," Hans snapped harshly as he glared, until suddenly, the door flung open, and Ayla stood there, looking flushed and excited.

"EVerything's gone to plan." She said in between gasps for air. "One guard saw Queen Elsa and her husband heading away from Arendelle, and the funeral went without a hitch. They'll be bringing in the new Queen soon enough, and it that time, the Arendelle Royals will be eradicated."

Hans slowly grinned, a truly terrifying sight for it usually meant that someone had died, or was going to, and he he placed his hand on Seth's shoulder. "You dare try to get out again, and Lord help you, but if boredom's the problem, that's easy enough to fix." He grinned, as he thought about the ways he would celebrate when Elsa, Anna, their other halves and their brats were all defeated.

"Seth, get your riding gear on. I'm teaching you to hunt."

Seth nodded dumbly, not sure what had happened, but also terrified of what was going to happen. _Eradicated_\- he didn't even hear the word, but knew it wasn't good by the tone of it.

He just wanted to sit on the sidelines, but he knew he'do have a big role with his 'adopted' parents.

* * *

"It'll be quite the trek- you'll need to travel fast, but I believe you can do it." Pabbie said, "You need to find the headquarters of Karleif and his Mother all those years ago; they could contain useful information on blood magic, which is the magic Princess Ayla, as she is now known by, uses. I have no doubts that she is somehow involved in this whole situation, thus it makes sense to make her your target."

Anna frowned at Pabbie slightly annoyed. "Where on earth are we supposed to start looking?" She asked rather loudly, and Pabbie held up his hand to get her to stop.

"I, for one, would recommend starting at Corona; perhaps young Princess Eva can use her own, weaker powers to try to heal little Fredrik here, so what better starting place, hmm?"

Elsa sighed quietly, but eventually nodded. "We have no choice, really; we've been all but kicked out of Arendelle." Reluctantly, she nodded. "I say that we may as well listen to Pabbie; he's much wiser then we."

Pabbie chuckled. "Thank you, my dear," He said, then smiled. "Now, off you go; you'll need to leave here early to get to the coast in time. It gets dark early this time of year, you know, and it wouldn't do any good to be lost in the forest at night."

Elsa could have laughed at the irony of that statement, considering that they had been tracking through a maze of trees in pitch black just the other night. Yet, none of them were really in the mood to laugh, so she just resorted for a little nod, and looked out to where she knew the sea was waiting for them.

* * *

**Wow... My sister begged me to put Frozen on for her, so I did, and then here I am now, writing this chapter and realising just how much darker this story is than even the darkest bits of frozen... Wow... Especially let it go, can't imagi Elsa singing that anymore... she'd probably end up singing a Parody of it now, maybe "do not cry" or something, I can see it now:**

**_Do not cry,_**

**_Do not cry,_**

**_Won't allow them to see my pain,_**

**_Do not cry,_**

**_Do not cry,_**

**_They all know of my scars, my shame..._**

**Okay, well, I'm not a song writer, I stick to fanfiction for a reason!**

**Anyway, sorry this was a shorter chapter, I've had a rather hectic week! But anyway, you guys can have your say in the next chapter! Now, some people have complained that there' stop much pregnancy in this series, which I completely get, although let's face it - people did tend to get pregnant quite a lot in the 19th century-ish time!**

**Anyway, there are two questions to answer:**

**1) Will Elsa and / or Anna ask Pabbie if she is / they are pregnant?**

**2) Are Elsa and / or Anna pregnant?**

**It'll probably be a majority vote (though I may be swayed either way) so make sure to get your vote in! Leave a review by next Wednesday and then I'll count up the results.**


	20. Chapter 20 - dedicated to OmegaMarker

_**Pabbie chuckled. "Thank you, my dear," He said, then smiled. "Now, off you go; you'll need to leave here early to get to the coast in time. It gets dark early this time of year, you know, and it wouldn't do any good to be lost in the forest at night."**_

_**Elsa could have laughed at the irony of that statement, considering that they had been tracking through a maze of trees in pitch black just the other night. Yet, none of them were really in the mood to laugh, so she just resorted for a little nod, and looked out to where she knew the sea was waiting for them.**_

* * *

_blackknght: _**I'm glad you got a chance to read again! Anyway, yes, Seier did get away with the group, only Sven was left behind.**

_Guest ("Let them ask Pabbi if they are pregnant, but please, PLEASE let him say they're not!"): _**Thanks for your comments, I guess we'll just have to see, won't we...**

_Elsa lover (guest):_ **Yeah, I agree that Anna has enough kids, but it all depends on what everyone else says... Thanks for the vote!**

_KLime (guest):_ **Firstly, you did point out a lot of possibilities for the future of the story, so thanks, because I can try to tackle each of them. As for Ayla tracking them, who knows... maybe she will be able to after all. As for Seth's reliability, I'm glad you brought that up - he'll be strong, to be sure, because he's a "next generation" magic user, so to speak, like Mia is. He won't have the same variety of magic as Ayla, but his camouflage ability will be incredibly powerful (at least one day). No doubt Ayla and Hans will use him for his powers, but then of course, he is just a kid. Also, as for the overuse of language, thanks - I'll go back and fix that now. It can be hard to think of adjectives at one in the morning! Finally, as for having a birthday soon, there will be one at some point, but not just yet - Elsa's Birthday is December 22nd, Anna's is June 21st. Mia's is November 30th, Freddie's is Boxing Day, Seth's is July 22nd, Eva's is July 25th, the Twins' is August 6th. We don't know when Kristoff's birthday is, nor Hans', Ayla's, Odd's, Rapunzel's or Eugene's. I might make Odd's birthday soon though, for a bit of happiness.**

_Guest:_ **I'm glad you like the ElsaxOdd (some people recommended the name 'Elsodd'?) pairing! And thanks for the review!**

_Ratchet McCloud:_ **Thanks for the vote!**

_Kathy22334 (guest)_**: Wow, it seems mad to think that this story can get darker! But thanks for the vote, and as for how the sisters will react (if I do decide to make them / one of them pregnant) - well, you can probably guess.**

_Pabulover123:_ **I'll admit, it made me feel a little less cruel when I could give Freddie a bit of respite from his sickness... but the wound is still infected, and he won't be able to fight it forever... As for going to Corona to see Rapunzel, yes, it will come as quite a shock to her, especially since she won't have known the news of the royals' "death" for long. As for how they'll get across the ocean without being recognised, all I'll say is this; it'll be with difficulty, and hopefully luck! Also, you say about Hans being on par with Arne, and yes, I'll give you that; of course, he would have been an exact replica of Arne if Seth didn't have a use. In Arne's case, Odd would have showed no signs of 'strength' (or Arne's version of strength, at least) so he wasn't valuable to him, hence why he abused him. If Odd had been a bit more ruthless as a kid, Arne would probably have adored him, because he'd have been proud of producing such 'strong' offspring, but alas, it was - thankfully, as I much prefer a nice Odd - not to be. And you ask who the new ruler will be, but I won't say anything just yet, although you may be able to make assumptions. Also, thanks for the vote!**

_Summer loving snowman:_ **I finish replying to the last review, then I suddenly get another one, yay! Anyway, you're certainly correct when you say that the family can't get a break... but maybe they'll get one in Corona? ... Maybe. Also, I'm glad you enjoyed "Dawn's poem", so thanks for taking the time to read it! Finally, thanks for your vote!**

_anniGirl93:_ **Ahaa, thanks for the vote! I know it's a spelling mistake, but I couldn't help but laugh when you said 'maybe at Cornea'... Teehee! I'm guessing you meant Corona, so I'll take that into account. Also, the point you make about it being a reminder already is a fair one, although I can't promise anything based on that, I do tend to be rather evil... But maybe I'll be nice ;)**

_OmegaMarker:_ **Ah, I'm glad you ****still like the story, despite the darkness of it! Although your assumptions are a little questionable... Imperius curse, polyjuice... Wrong fandom, I'm afraid (though I won't lie, I do love Harry Potter too, I'm a massive Potterhead!) Also, a lot of people have wondered who'll be the new King/Queen of Arendelle (well, everyone assumes it's a Queen, but it could be a King too!) but you'll just have to wait, eh? Anyway, thanks for the vote as well!**

_spartandestroyr:_ **No worries for not reviewing last chapter, I know what it's like to be busy! And I'm glad that you didn't expect it to be the advisor who was behind it all - I'd been planning that for weeks, so it means a lot that it wasn't wasted planning. And thanks for the vote!**

* * *

The group got ready to go slowly, all of them wishing, at least a little, that they could just remain here in the valley, until the whole threat of Arne and his men, and whatever was going on in Arendelle, blew over, but they all knew that such thoughts were just wishful thinking; they couldn't hide away forever.

Odd and Elsa were especially unsure of what they wanted; the promise of safety, at least for a time, was so very tempting - tantalisingly so, even - but both knew they'd never be content if they didn't go. Elsa would end up going mad with concern for her subjects and how they were being treated under the new King or Queen, whoever would be called upon to fill that role, for she had a horrid feeling that the person would be working alongside the Royal Advisor - he had clearly wanted the royals out of the way, so presumably he wanted someone else in charge, whose views surely mirrored his own. Odd knew that he, too, would never be able to deal with hiding away; the last time he'd been 'cooped up', he'd ended up storming off to get outside, which ended with him being captured by the Southern Isles, while Dagvin impersonated him in his absence; every time he thought of it, he couldn't help but feel guilty for leaving Elsa with him.

By the time everything was eventually ready, after the trolls' constant fussing and attempts to make their journey as comfortable as possible - which meant giving them three whole cooked ducks, a large basket full of burdock roots and dandelion leaves (which certainly made the group cringe) and a large amount of red currants - it was already nearing the middle of the afternoon, and everyone knew it was too late to leave now.

By four o'clock, the night would have plunged their world into blackness, the darkness too thick to navigate through. It hadn't mattered much before for they were fleeing for their lives - they didn't care where they ended up, so long as it was somewhere in the opposite direction to Arne. However, now they had a destination to get to, so it would have been foolish to try to travel; the darkness would catch up with them, would leave them exposed for attack.

With great reluctance, Elsa eventually agreed that there was no way that they could leave that day, but it didn't stop her from feeling on edge and jumpy, terrified that their delay would allow Arne and his men time to catch up with them. Admittedly, the whole group were scared - who wouldn't be, after all? - but they tried to stay calm, settle down and rest. It wasn't an easy feat, especially for Odd, but they all managed it - mostly.

As promised, darkness fell quickly, and the group, weary from travelling for so long, soon fell asleep on beds of soft grass, Freddie sleeping especially deeply in his new-found respite from sickness, though how long it would last, one could only guess; Elsa, who ended up the only one still awake, was desperately hoping that his strength would hold out until they reached Corona, where - hopefully - Eva could heal him. How much she could do was questionable, considering that she only had a fraction of the power Rapunzel had once possessed, but any help was welcome.

She sat silently for a few moments, her mind wandering again to the topic which had, thanks to her hectic day, not plagued her mind as much as she'd feared: her current state. She frowned in concern, feeling suddenly alarmed that her fears were true, even more-so than she'd felt before, and her heart ached with a sense of absolute terror. She felt her heart rate increase slightly and she closed her eyes, trying to keep herself composed and quiet so as not to wake her resting family, but she quickly realised that doing so was not an accomplishable feat, especially as her head suddenly began to ache with the dull throb of an oncoming headache, and she moaned slightly.

Pushing herself up from the grassy bed, she stood up slowly and stumbled outside, leaving the small cave which had been dubbed the royals' room for the night, which had once been Kristoff's when he lived with the trolls. The frigid air was unexpected but strangely pleasant, though the cold never did bother Elsa anyway; still, as the wind surrounded her, she felt slightly reassured as the breeze blew some of her troubles away, taking them with her. She breathed in deeply, feeling the chilly air trickling down her throat like water, and she felt so free for that one, short moment.

"Your Majesty?" came a masculine voice from behind her, and Elsa spun around suddenly, feeling defensive again as her blood began pumping extremely fast around her body, and though she was still hindered by the gloves she shoved her hands forwards in an attempt to protect herself; for a second, she frowned when she saw no one, before she realised that the voice had come from below, and she looked down to see Grand Pabbie standing there quietly, the top of his head coated in a layer of ice. Elsa smiled slightly, feeling sheepish at her actions, and she focused on thawing it away; it took a few seconds of effort to succeed, and she sighed when she accomplished it.

"I am so sorry, Grand Pabbie..." She said quietly, not quite able to look at him, but the wise old troll shook his head at her quickly.

"Do not be, Elsa," he assured hastily, "I should have known better than to sneak up on you, after what you've been through... It was my own fault."

Elsa nodded mutely at his words, not quite sure what else to say, and there was a second of silence before Pabbie decided to break it. "Before I offend you, your Majesty, please don't take this the wrong way..." He spoke his words slowly, and he looked at her with concern in his eyes, though the darkness hid his emotions from view. "But is there anything the matter? You seem rather distracted, if I may say so."

Elsa was quick to shake her head this time. "No, no, of course not- why ever would you think that-" she said, her voice not too fast, but slightly higher pitched than normal, something which did not go amiss by Pabbie. "I'm fine, I'm fine..."

Grand Pabbie watched her carefully, noting the way she spoke, the way she fiddled ever so slightly with the edge of her ice-dress, barely perceptible through the darkness. "You mock my intelligence, Elsa." He said, and as he had expected, she frowned at the comment in both guilt and fear that he could see through her lies. "It is evident you are not at ease, but I'm not here to demand you share your thoughts with me. All I can say is that if you want to, before you leave in the morn, I am here to listen to anything you need to say. It may help to speak with someone unconnected to you first, before you speak of it with those you love- it may be easier. But it is, naturally, completely your choice."

Once again, Elsa nodded mutely. "Thank you, Grand Pabbie." She said in response, and the troll acknowledged her response, before turning around to leave after coming to the assumption that she would come to him if she needed his assistance; just as he was about to roll away, however, a small voice came from behind.

"Wait-" Elsa whispered under her breath, and she felt her palms beginning to sweat inside the gloves. "There... is one thing which you could possibly help me with..." She winced as the words spilled from her mouth, knowing that she had suddenly gotten herself into a trap; she'd admitted there was something wrong, though Pabbie knew it already, so how could she get out of telling him? Still, it was for the best.

"Yes, your Majesty?" Pabbie said as he rolled back around to face her, feeling relieved himself that she'd decided to confide in him, if only to ease some of her difficulties later on; it would be easier to admit problems to her family if she'd already admitted it to someone else who accepted her for it, and Pabbie would never judge anyone for their actions - unless said actions were undeniably evil, in which case he'd not hesitate to chase them out of the valley to protect his family. That clearly was not the case with Elsa, though; her aura didn't radiate a single bit of cruelty, though that didn't mean she couldn't be corrupted by fear.

"I... I have a favour I must ask of you," she admitted nervously, and Pabbie waited patiently for her to find the courage to continue, "I must admit, it's rather personal, though, so I..." She let her voice trail off, not quite able to find the words to say, but she didn't need to.

"I understand, Queen Elsa," Pabbie said calmly, and his even tone had an almost soothing effect, which she was grateful for. "Please - continue."

Taking a sharp breath in of fear, Elsa tried to steady her shaking hands, resorting to holding them together behind her back to keep them a little more still. Closing her eyes, realising she could only say what she had to without looking at Pabbie, she eventually managed to choke out, "I think I may be pregnant," before turning her own body away, and looking at the ground in shame. Pabbie stepped a little closer to her, but respected her wish to not look at him.

"I am assuming that you wish for me to find out for you whether or not these suspicions are correct?" He asked gently, and Elsa gave a hushed murmur in reply, feeling - as she always did when she thought of the topic - absolutely worthless. "If that is really what you want, I would be happy to oblige, though I must ask one thing first: if you are, indeed, pregnant, do you have any idea when you may have conceived a child?"

Elsa was quiet for a few seconds, before she spoke up in a little voice, "I'm not quite sure." She felt her legs go weak as she pondered the topic even more, and resigned to sitting down upon the floor, not bothered as she would have once been about the dirt. "I could have gotten pregnant before... well, before recent events, in which case I could be a few months along." She paused slightly, knowing that it was an unlikely option. "I have not, however, noticed any signs in that time."

Grand Pabbie frowned, as he listened to Elsa's words, not quite comprehending why she would believe she was pregnant if she'd had no clues suggesting such an occurrence; suddenly, however, a thought occurred to him, and his eyes widened in sorrow for the poor girl.

"I fear, however, I may be... well, a few days pregnant."

This next admission shocked Pabbie, and he frowned, not quite sure whether he could help the girl or not; still, he would try his best. "Very well, Your Majesty," he said gently, and Elsa was relieved he didn't pry into things, which would have only made her feel more uncomfortable. "I think I understand what you are trying to say, and I may be able to help you, but I must warn you that whatever I say now... well, it may not be correct. I can detect life, certainly, but such a young embryo would be tiny; not even the size of the very tip of a quill. I'm sure you see where I am coming from?"

Elsa nodded mutely, and managed to squeak out as the nightmare suddenly became real, "Okay." She buried her head in her hands for a second, before she pushed her hair away from her face and breathed out, "I'm ready."

* * *

Anna's eyes fluttered open slowly and she sat up groggily, the fresh night air a luxurious gift after so long underground, though her back was aching horribly from her burn. She frowned as a slight chill crept down her spine, and she knew something was off, too; she looked around wearily and was quick to notice that Elsa was missing. Feeling suddenly terrified that something had happened to her sister, she scrambled up quickly and crawled across to Odd, about to awake him before she realised that there was no need to give him additional stress - surely Elsa was near.

Sighing slightly, she climbed out of the little cave hurriedly herself and stood up, wincing at the gentle nips of the cold air as she squinted, as she attempted desperately to see through the darkness, but with very little success. She stumbled forwards slowly, trying to work out where her sister could have gone to at this time of night, when she heard a very faint murmuring to her right, not too far away.

"I can detect life, certainly, but such a young embryo would be tiny; not even the size of the very tip of a quill. I'm sure you see where I am coming from?"

Anna's breath caught in her throat as she listened, and as she crept forwards slightly, she finally saw Elsa, who was sat on the ground, looking absolutely terrified, and her heart melted for her as she heard the tiny whisper of "Okay" from the Queen. She went to move forward, wishing she could be there to support her, but then she caught herself; she wouldn't feel right just barging in. If she went over then Elsa would surely lose her nerve, for Anna knew how guilty she felt about the subject, especially around her family; at least Pabbie was not related to her. She couldn't help but respect her sister, though... She'd certainly thought about asking Pabbie herself, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

With one last glance, she turned back, and slowly stumbled back to the cave, feeling ever so proud of her older sister as she lay down and fell into a light sleep.

* * *

Elsa drew back slightly as she felt Pabbie place his hand gently upon her ice dress, closing her eyes and looking away as a strange, tingling sensation came in her abdomen. It lasted for just a few seconds, and then ended as quickly as it had come, leaving her lower body feeling numb, and she frowned. Pabbie had warned her of this very-temporary side effect, but the thought that she may not regain feeling - though she'd been assured she would - was almost as terrifying as the news which was coming soon.

Elsa pushed herself up slowly, stiffly, and looked at the troll expectantly, bright blue eyes large, and he was silent for a second, before he answered her unasked question. "I could sense a lot of magic in your body, so it made it a bit harder to decide whether or not there was life, and please bear in mind, I could easily be mistaken." He said, and Elsa frowned slightly, but her heart soared with hope. "Queen Elsa... It is my belief that you are with child."

_With child. _The words echoed in her head and her heart, previously hopeful, dropped to the very pit of her stomach, a diamond shattered into thousands of shards, with a heavy thud which made her ears pound and her head swim. Her breathing increased in horror and she crawled backwards from Pabbie quickly, feeling like a course and contemptible woman, horrified at herself, before she stood up and ran, everything suddenly too much. The only thing that had kept her strong before was the chance that she'd not been pregnant, that she was just being paranoid...

She yelped loudly as her foot caught on a root, and she fell quickly, landing on the hard floor with a heavy thud, making herself wince as tears, barely held back until now, spilled down her cheeks in a wave of emotion, and she let out a small yell of frustration. She lay there for a few seconds, sobbing until the tears no longer came, then she finally gave in, feeling completely lost by now; crawling weakly over to a rocky alcove, she curled up in a foetal position and fell asleep, her dreams haunted by alarming images of tiny babies, with bright red eyes and fangs, dripping with blood, and all the while, throughout the entire dream, her family stood on the sidelines - Anna, Krisotoff, Odd, Kari and Thomas and Mia, and Freddie - watching her with absolute repulsion.

_"How on earth can you expect me to be seen with you, when you are carrying _another man's child_?" Odd would say over the chilling gurgles of the babies, toddling around on stiff legs._

_"You're so weak..." Anna's voice sounded above the babbling, "You allowed them take you, let them take _me_ too - what sort of sister are you?"_

_Kristoff watched her reproachfully, too. "I always thought Anna was too clumsy to be Queen... But now I see how wrong that was. _Anyone_ is a better leader -_ a better person_ \- than you."_

Elsa jumped awake with a start as a large, wet tongue brushed across her face, and she scrunched up her nose in disgust at the breath which came with it; Seier barked in her face triumphantly as he backed up, his tail wagging ferociously as he looked over to where his 'mother' had been a second before, and he let his tongue loll out when Anna patted his head gently, before bending down to see her sister in the tiny alcove. Taking her hand forcefully, holding it tightly when Elsa attempted to pull it away, she smiled reassuringly, her eyes shining with pure relief as she pulled her sister out from her minuscule hideout.

"Oh, Elsa!" She cried, and she threw herself upon her sister, embracing her fiercely, as if she hadn't seen her in years; Elsa, in turn, couldn't move at all, not returning the hug in the slightest, looking away from her family in shame.

Odd stepped forward slowly, watching her with hurt shining in his green eyes, and he felt nervous approaching her, in case it would make her run away again. "Elsa..." He said slowly, and cautiously, her head turned to face him, her blue eyes peeking open tentatively. Anna let her go and stepped backwards, so that she could go to Odd, but she couldn't move, her legs not co-operating, her mind in over-drive, telling her to run before she could be hurt, because though she knew, deep down, her family wouldn't react that way, it didn't stop her from being paranoid. "Elsa, why did you come out here? We were all so scared that you'd been taken!"

Elsa looked down at her feet, and sighed, before she looked up at her family anxiously.

"I..." She faltered, and Odd took a step towards her. Before she could back away, he reached out and took her hand, pulling her closer and placing his hand around her waist, just above her brand. She struggled fruitlessly, but she hadn't the energy to get away, and eventually she sighed, permitting Odd to hold her safely, as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"What is it, Elsa?" He asked gently, and as she opened her eyes, she saw Anna smiling at her confidently as if she knew what was the problem already, and she felt amazingly reassured. She gave a very weak smile back to her sister, and knew she had to come clean at some point.

"I'm so sorry..." She whispered, as she leaned closer into Odd's body. "I'm pregnant."

* * *

**Okay, firstly, I'm sorry this chapter was so simple, I know a few of you asked specifically not for an entire pregnancy chapter, but frankly, I was too tired to think tonight anyway! xD I've got my first GCSE exam in ten days (two french and a biology) so I've been a bit pre-occupied. **

**On that note, I'd also like to say that while I'll do my best to update on Fridays still, for the next month or so I may end up posting on Saturday / Sunday, depending on how much time I get to write. As much as it pains me to say it, I can't deny that achieving my life dream of becoming a vet does come just a bit before updating the story on time... And if anyone has a go at me for that, well (in true Ron Weasley fashion) _you need to sort out your priorities!_**

**Thanks for the reviews for last chapter, they were great fun to read (and are the only thing which allowed me to update on time this week).**

**(P.S. I have two more baby goats now!)**

**-SG**


	21. Chapter 21 - dedicated to OmegaMarker

_**"What is it, Elsa?" He asked gently, and as she opened her eyes, she saw Anna smiling at her confidently as if she knew what was the problem already, and she felt amazingly reassured. She gave a very weak smile back to her sister, and knew she had to come clean at some point.**_

_**"I'm so sorry..." She whispered, as she leaned closer into Odd's body. "I'm pregnant."**_

* * *

_blackknght: _**(This is for your review of chapter 17) I'm very ****glad that my writing is good enough to show how the characters are feeling, so thanks for mentioning it! As for them having a chance to have a break... well, they've had a sort of break with the trolls, though it hasn't exactly been a great time for Elsa, has it... Thanks so much for the review, it's especially meaningful when I know how busy you've been recently! (For the review of chapter 18) You say about Ayla playing with their mind, I didn't think of that, but then probably not - Mia's the one with the power of mind control, and as it's her speciality, she'd be better than Ayla but she still struggles with it. Perhaps there may be some form of Ayla's power to persuade people to think in a certain way later on, though! (For the review of chapter 19) First off, well done for picking up on the connection between Ayla and Arne! As for how she met Arne... well, there may well be some information on that in later chapters. Now, you mention the connection between Karleif and Corona, and no, Karleif and Ayla (they were siblings, in case you / anyone else reading this forgot) didn't come from Corona originally - however, Karleif and his Mother did have a connection with Corona, which was only hinted upon in the first book. Second, I'm glad that I made your month with the trolls - it makes me happy to make my readers happy. Also, thanks for the vote - you still got your wish of Elsa pregnant and asking Pabbie, who knows with Anna though! She's still open to go either way. Thanks so much for the reviews!**

_Purple Pizza: _**Ah, I'm sure you'll manage with french! Although I'm not even going to revise french, to be honest... I need to prioritise biology, I think. Also, as for hoping Anna isn't pregnant... well, only time will tell, but at least she'd be able to cope with it a bit better than Elsa could. See you soon.**

_Kathy22334 (guest):_ **You're right, Grand Pabbie didn't mention it's age, so yes, there is still the possibility that it's Odd's. If you want to find out, though, you'll have to keep an eye on any pregnancy symptoms Elsa gets and when they usually occur (at what stage during pregnancy), and that might give you a clue as to whose kid it is. Well, either that and wait until it's born, and see if it looks like a different person or not (because let's face it, the 19th century wouldn't have had DNA testing...) Thanks for the review!**

_Asome (guest): _**Well, I wish you all the best in becoming an animator! And thanks for the review - as for the story calming down a bit, well, we'll have some happiness soon (but let's face it, you're not likely to be having a whale of a time when someone's trying to capture you to get your children's blood... On that note, Elsa's in extra danger now, she won't be quite so slim in a couple of months, and Anna may not be either...)**

_KLime (guest):_ **I'm honoured that you're willing to write a review, even when you're busy, because it shows that my work's appreciated - thanks! And if the review is short, no worries - it's the thought that counts, and I love reading all my reviews (well, except the troll reviews, they're a pain), no matter how long or short. As for your warning that you may be a different person next week (so, by the time you're reading this, it'll be this week)... Well, I have no idea what you mean by that, but okay! I'm sure I'll figure it out. As for your comments, I'm glad you liked the bit with Grand Pabbie's head being covered in frost - I thought it was a cute reaction. I'm also happy that you liked the Anna scene and Elsa's dream. And I must say, it makes me happy to know that Grand Pabbie is like a Grandfather-figure, considering I hadn't even realised myself! Oops! And I'm glad my last comments inspired you to review! (Although I can't even remember what they were... better go and check!)**

_pabulover123:_ **You're right, Elsa was definitely strong for being able to tell Odd that she was pregnant (although I'll give you a hint, it gets a little bit much for her in this chapter). As for Odd, he's certainly going to have a bit of a hard time waiting to find out who's child it is, but he'll just have to put up with any insecurities he may or may not get - and probably have to hide them, too. Elsa would probably end up doing something drastic (like run away) otherwise! Also, I just heard that Kate had given birth this afternoon (it's Saturday as I'm writing this) and I was shocked, I thought she wasn't due for a week or so! (Even though my friend did mention to me that she was due soon at school last week, ah well). It's nice thought that we've got a new little Princess though! Teehee, I love having a royal family - I feel for you Americans without one, I like the novelty of it ;)**

_Summer loving snowman:_ **Ahaa, yep, perfectly normal to be nervous about the chapter! xD Also, as for who's kid it is... well, you'll have to wait and see. I'm not going to reveal whether it's Odd's or someone else's, but watch out for her pregnancy symptoms if you want to have a guess! (So, what stage during pregnancy would her symptoms arise). As for Anna, no, she won't ask Pabbie, because she doesn't want to find out now; she'd rather find out in her own time. Although she certainly does have her hands full with three kids already!**

_WildVirus (guest): _**Ahaa, you say Elsa needs a therapist now, she's an absolute state in this chapter (at least at the start). And you're right, while I didn't realise it as I was writing it, Pabbie is almost acting Grandfatherly towards Elsa - he is quite a grandfatherly figure though, so I'm happy with that :)**

_spartandestroyr:_ **God, your name is hard to spell xD I always get it wrong first time ****around! But anyway, thanks for the review - it's true, it is sad for Elsa that she's pregnant, especially for how hard it is for her to deal with. In the review, you made the point of saying that maybe the baby could be more powerful than Elsa and Mia together, but, alas, I'm afraid not; right at the end of book one, Karleif and his mother explained how the magic worked. Karleif, his Mother and Ayla all obtained magic by injecting a dose of a magic-carrier's blood into their bloodstream (a magic-carrier is someone whose blood contains magic, but they cannot harness it, like Anna (although she _can_ channel Elsa's and Mia's powers). A magic-user would be someone like Elsa). It was mentioned that a magic-carrier can have children who can use magic, whereas a magic-user's children will all be unable to use magic, only carry the magic in their blood. The more generations that pass without a magic-user being born, the stronger the magic grows (hence why Mia is stronger than Elsa - she's the next generation. This also explains why a magic-users' children don't have magic - the magic is too weak in them because they are so closely related to someone who uses magic). So, no, Elsa's child will not be able to use magic - the exceptions to the rule are Seth and Eva. Seth has magic because Ayla wasn't born magical, she was made magical later in life - Eva has magic because Rapunzel didn't have magic anymore when Eva was conceived (her hair had been cut). But then, Eva is much less powerful than Rapunzel was.**

_PeruvianInca_**: Ahaa, yes, Elsa is pregnant, I'm guessing you expected her not to be ;)**

_OmegaMarker_**: Well, first off, I'm glad you liked the chapter, and don't worry about reviewing late- in some ways it's mice, gives me comments to read throughout the week. It makes me feel quite smug when you say that you can sympathise with Elsa's feelings, I'm glad it's decent enough writing to have that effect! As for how the family deal with the child if it lives (you're right, it could still die)- well, it will certainly be interesting. No doubt it might not be such 'love at first sight', no matter whose child it is, considering the harsh memories which would be associated with it. And finally, thanks for understanding about the lateness, and yeah, I do need to sort out my priorities, but oh well. Maybe I can multitask? (I'm female, after all!)**

* * *

There was a beat of silence, in which Kristoff and Odd stood shocked, looking at each-other quickly in concern, and Anna's eyes trailed down at the ground a little, knowing that she's been right about Elsa's state. She felt so saddened for her sister; if she, herself, got pregnant... Well, she could deal with it, but Elsa was her own person, and completely different to Anna. She'd been stressing about the possibility of pregnancy for days, and it was bad enough that she still felt guilty for allowing Arne's men to take advantage of them, without the added burden of a baby to go along with it.

Odd, meanwhile, was frozen slightly, horrified that she was, indeed, pregnant. It wasn't that it bothered him (too much, at least) that it could be another man's child, rather that he was sickened anyone could have done this to Elsa, and moreover, was concerned for her mental state. She was always an easy person to break - such a disrupted and difficult childhood as hers could do that to anybody. During his own youth, Odd's only goal was to survive, and as such, he had come to be more insensitive to hurtful comments than most people would be. The only time he would ever listen to people's comments was when he felt out of his comfort zone, such when he'd originally come to the castle for the first time, eight years ago now.

Elsa, however, was a different ball game. She'd spent her entire childhood trying to hide away from who she was, terrified of herself and constantly being reminded - even if her parents didn't say so directly - that she was dangerous. It was really no surprise she was so self-conscious, although Odd was definitely amazed, even to this day, that Anna was so trusting of people after her sister locked herself away spontaneously as a child - surely such an event, especially for a five year old, would have made her question people more? Even after Hans' betrayal she still managed to have a lot of confidence in other people, and it just seemed incredible, but then that was Anna; she always did march to a different beat.

"Hey, hey," Odd said once he got over the initial shock as he felt Elsa's body begin to shake, but she wouldn't look at him when he spoke, fearing that he would push her away, be the man in her nightmare who saw her as nothing but a common harlot.

_And so he should_, she thought bitterly, as she suddenly found strength to duck out of his grip and stumble backwards. _I'm pregnant, with a child who could likely be sired by the very people who tortured me - surely you can't get any more disloyal than that!_

"Elsa-" Odd began, but the word, spoken so softly, was twisted and warped by her frantic mind, sounding bitter and cold, full of hatred and loathing.

"No!" Elsa yelled, with as much force as she could muster. She held her hands forward, terrified that she would be attacked as she had been before, losing all rational thoughts at the sound of Odd's "repulsed" tone of voice. Would he brand her, as his Father's men had done? Would he beat her until she miscarried, then claim her back as his own? "Get back!"

A beam of ice, brightest blue and glinting dangerously in the morning sunlight, shot out of her palm and, originally directed at Odd, went off course from the gloves she still worse, shooting towards Kristoff instead. His eyes widened in shock and sudden fear; upon the look of horror upon his face, Elsa's mind snapped back to reality, the burst of magic taking some of her anger and terror out of her body along with it, and she began to feel rational again before she realised that it would strike him directly in the heart.

"No!" She cried again, but this time it was in fear for Kristoff, not herself. She stepped forward quickly, as if she could catch the projectile of ice, but then such a feat would be impossible; she watched in horror as the magic drew closer to him every fraction of a second, and heard her sister's equally terrified cry as she jumped over to her husband. Throwing out her hand, she winced as she felt her veins fill with icy coldness as the magic met with her palm and was drawn into her body; spinning around she pointed her finger towards the edge of the valley, and with a gasp, the magic was redirected onto a nearby tree, freezing it completely solid.

Elsa stood, watching in horror at what she'd nearly done, and drew her hands up to her chest to stop herself, as frost climbed up the rocky banks of the valley. She backed up to her little alcove again and tried to climb back in, but Odd ran up to her and grabbed hold of her hands gently. He ignored the way they suddenly went numb as they began to freeze over, and smiled at his wife.

"Shush, shush, Elsa..." He said, looking at her directly in the eyes so that she could see that his words were genuine. "It's okay, calm down..."

And once again, Elsa felt the fragile walls of strength she'd built crumble down as the tears cascaded down her cheeks again. "You ought to hate me, Odd..." She whispered, and she collapsed into him, "Why don't you hate me?"

Odd shook his head at his wife weakly in near-amusement for her misunderstading, as he bent down very slightly and helped Elsa up onto her own feet, putting her left arm over his shoulders and supporting her. "To be honest, if anyone has to hate anyone else, surely you should be hating me, just as Anna should be hating Kristoff." Elsa frowned at this statement, and looked at him in puzzlement, her blue eyes, shining with tears, gazing into his own.

"What?" She asked, taken aback, "You didn't do anything wrong, you couldn't have stopped them. But... now I'm with child - and I checked with Pabbie last night, to be sure, and he said that it's highly likely I am, though there's a tiny chance he was wrong - but chances are, if I am it could easily be someone else's! What sort of wife - what sort of Queen, who should be a role model for her people - would that make me?"

She wished that he would just agree with her, so she could wallow in self pity and make him punish her for being such a bad woman, but of course, he wouldn't do that. "I couldn't have stopped them, and nor could Kristoff, you're right there, but then that doesn't hide the fact that as your husbands, both of us should have protected you. So surely it's our own fault?"

Elsa shook her head desperately, wanting so badly to be able to get the treatment she felt that she deserved. "No, no, it's my fault for not fighting hard enough."

Kristoff stepped forwards at that point, trying not to look wary of her - he wasn't afraid of her, as such, but he respected that she was strong and, moreover, afraid. "Then it's also Anna's fault for not fighting hard enough." He pointed out, crossing his fingers behind his back quickly to show his wife that he wasn't being serious, and as such he managed to miss out on receiving a well-aimed kick in the gut from her.

Elsa looked at Kristoff in frustration, knowing that she'd dug herself into a hole now, as she feebly tried to reply with "Of course not... It was my fault, entirely mine."

Anna snapped now, growing a little annoyed with her sister's refusal to not accept responsibility. "If it's your fault for not fighting hard enough, then it's also my fault for not fighting hard enough. Which is it, already?"

Elsa sighed, and though she couldn't quite manage to say that it wasn't her fault, couldn't quite believe those words, she managed to say quietly, "It's not your fault." Anna was still for a moment, but then nodded slowly at this as she tried to smile warmly, accepting this as close enough to agreeing with her, and she stepped back to Kristoff's side. He, in turn, was happy to pull her close to him, something which she was grateful for; being able to cuddle up next to him made her forget about her own situation, and whether or not _she_ was pregnant.

If only Elsa would do the same with Odd, but then she was too conscious of herself to let go of her troubles as easily as Anna could. The Princess knew how to drift away from her problems, distract herself; Elsa would only let them eat away at her, never able to forget about them. And it was no wonder; the last time she had let go of her troubles was after her coronation, and look how that turned out - she ended up freezing the entire kingdom that she loved so dearly.

"Elsa," Odd said once more, as he wrapped his arm gently back around her waist, again missing the brand, and pulled her closer. He kept a firm grip on one of her hands, and though Elsa stiffened up at first, she quickly relaxed, though she still felt like she didn't deserve such treatment. "I won't lie - this isn't ideal," he began, and Elsa looked away shamefully, expecting him to tell her that she had ruined everything. Instead, she felt him let go of her hand, pull her closer with his arm around her waist, and tilt her chin up so that she wasn't staring in the opposite direction from him. "But it isn't the end of the world, either."

Elsa felt her heart warm up very slightly as she heard those undeserved words, and she him gave a pathetically weak shot at a smile, the corners of her lips barely tilting up at all, but it was an attempt all the same, and Odd's own face brightened a little. "See, there we go!" He said a bit more cheerfully, and his wife's smile grew slightly more discernible at the contagious happiness. "Now, listen to me; this isn't so bad. The baby could be mine, or it could be..." Odd trailed off, and his face momentarily darkened out of anger towards his Father's men for being so selfish - he'd seen many animals more pleasant than those beasts. He also felt a little bitter about the situation himself, wishing that it would be his, but then he couldn't tell Elsa that, and it wasn't such a significant problem in the end. "It could be some other man's." He finished after a second, and Elsa felt her heart drop again at the reminder, but she didn't look away completely this time, her gaze only lowered a little.

"I'm sorry, Odd..." She whispered again, her voice tiny, almost childlike. Odd frowned, thinking that he'd gotten somewhere, but it seemed not.

"You didn't let me finish," he said gently, "Maybe I'd _prefer_ the child to be mine, and what man wouldn't, but I'll be here for you either way. And you know what?"

Elsa looked up at him incredulously as he said that, not wanting to believe that he wouldn't judge her, as she replied in a hushed voice, "What?"

Odd grinned again as he worked out exactly what to say to make her feel better, and he leaned a little closer to her and said in her ear, "No matter who its Father is, this kid's going to have _two_ parents who absolutely love him."

Elsa let out a little breath, and then smiled a little more confidently, still only a half-successful attempt, but miles better than before, and she looked her husband with pure relief shining in her eyes, though a little doubt was tangled in amongst it. "You mean it?" She whispered cautiously, and he nodded, making tears well up slowly in her eyes, but of happiness for once, not pain, and she leaned into him contentedly, hugging him as tightly as she possibly could. In response, he kissed her forehead once, before pushing her off, much to her disappointment and confusion. He chuckled at her expression.

"Come on, you- we'd better get back if we're going to get to Corona anytime soon."

Elsa let out a very slight giggle then, blushing slightly. "Oh... of course." She said, feeling foolish, and then stood up a little straighter. "Let's get back then." Pushing hair out of her face, she took a deep breath and began to walk back, seriously hoping that the tear marks on her face were not too obvious.

* * *

As the group had expected, the trolls were all thrilled to see that Elsa had been found and they clamoured around her eagerly to check that she was okay. They noticed the way her eyes were red and puffy, picked up on the slight marks down her cheeks, but when she smiled at them with as much warmth as she could muster they were reassured that she was okay. Within a few minutes the enthusiasm for her return died down and the trolls returned to their daily tasks; only one remained behind to speak with her.

"May I have a word, your Highness?" Pabbie asked respectfully and Elsa, though a little skeptical, nodded in agreement. The wise old troll smiled at her, hoping to reassure some of her obvious nerves about what he could have to say, before he turned to the rest of the group. "We won't be a minute, but may I suggest that the rest of you make any final preparations before you depart? Oh- Kristoff? Bulda asked me to tell you that she has some honey, too, which may help with your daughter's throat. Of course, it may not help her speak properly, but it might ease the discomfort."

Kristoff nodded, as he picked Kari up and went out to search for his 'Mother' troll, with Thomas following him like a faithful puppy, opting to stay with his twin. Anna was left behind with Mia and Odd who quickly set about checking they had everything they needed before departing, and Elsa turned to Pabbie.

"I must say, I am most relieved you are well, your Majesty; you have us quite the scare last night when you ran off and didn't return. But that's beside the point. I just wanted to give you an option about your pregnancy." Elsa, though reassured by Odd, stiffened up at the mention, not at all happy with the situation still. "There is a herb, one which we have a small stock of here in the valley. It can be dangerous in large quantities, but a very small amount regularly - say, a large pinch of powdered root a day, for a week or so - does, sometimes, have the ability to cause your body to miscarry."

Elsa's eyes widened at the statement, and she felt her heart rise; the opportunity to get rid of the problem entirely was so promising, yet at the same time, it seemed a little barbaric.

"Of course, as with all things there is a catch. The herb is not foolproof, and some women have taken it in the past and have not lost the child; in these situations, the infants ended up being born normally, but with birth defects. For example, Mia's young friend many years ago- Arne, I do believe?"

At the mention of the name, Elsa's jaw clenched, before she recalled the little boy Pabbie was referring to, not the monster; the little boy who'd fallen out of Mia's bedroom window and died a horrid death.

"Y-yes, I remember him, but he has passed now." Elsa informed Pabbie, and he sighed.

"Such a shame, such a waste of young life." The elder troll said sullenly, looking down a little for a moment in silence. "But back to the point; his Mother took this herb, and that is why he only had one arm. It caused problems with him." Pabbie paused for a second, and rolled a few metres away, before returning with a very small bag. "Here, take this. It contains some of the herb I referred to, already in powder form. If this pregnancy really causes you distress, then by all means take some of this powder, and you should abort. One pinch a day, for a week; there's enough for your sister there, too, if she should need it."

Elsa nodded stiffly, her body shocked from all the new information. She also couldn't help but wonder how Pabbie knew that Anna, too, could be pregnant, but then he was extremely wise, so he presumably jsut made accurate guesses. "Thank you," she said quietly, nodding her head and turning to leave, before Pabbie called for her to wait.

"One more thing, your Majesty; if you do decide to go through with this, no one would blame you, I'm sure, but give it careful consideration first. If the herb should fail... well, you could end up in an even worse situation than you are now. However, I figured it made sense to give you the choice."

Elsa nodded gratefully for the warning, muttering "Thank you" before leaving to help her family.

* * *

The group set off slowly, none really all that eager to leave the paradise of the valley after they had so graciously treated by Pabbie and his family; even now, as they began to leave, the trolls swarmed around them wildly, throwing little tips and reminders back and forth faster than the speed of light, some even rolling over and adding little flowers and charms to the group's saddle-bags for good luck. The sentiment was nice, but in the end everyone was grateful when Pabbie ordered his family to back off to allow the royals to leave - so many friendly gestures were only making doing so more difficult.

"We wish you all the best on your journey," Pabbie said gently, but then rolled a little closer. "However, before you do leave, there is one last gift I wish to give. Queen Elsa - would you be so kind as to give me your hands for one second?"

Slowly, Elsa bent down a little so that she was just leaning over High Flyer's side and she extended her hands cautiously, feeling a little unsteady without holding onto the reins and wondering what Pabbie could want, though a tiny flame of hope began to flicker inside of her chest as he took her gloved palms. Placing them together, he covered them with his own and then closed his eyes, and Elsa felt the strangest of sensations as she felt her magic begin to leave her body through her hands; Grand Pabbie shivered slightly before he grunted, and then drew back from her, opening his eyes and grinning. Elsa looked down at her hands and gasped in shock; the fabric was simply disappearing before her eyes, dissolving at an incredible speed without only a tiny amount of damage to the soft, tender skin which had been below.

"How-" She began incredulously, and the group watched in amazement as the last of the fabric faded from view. Pabbie chuckled a little, looking pleased that his attempt had worked.

"I am the king of the trolls, my dear," he said simply as he gave a small smile, though his eyes looked slightly pained and tired from the effort, "And as such my magic does have, if I may say so myself, the potential to be extremely powerful. Of course, I don't tend to use it all that much; our community can get by easily without it." Elsa watched him with increasing amazement, wondering how he could think that such a statement completely explained how he'd managed to make her gloves dissolve without even harming her skin more than a slight itchiness. If Pabbie picked up on her response, though, he made no attempt to further explain himself.

"Princess Mia - your turn now." He instructed and the young girl slowly encouraged Lysse towards him, looking a little afraid but she did as she was told as Pabbie repeated the action. The magic left her own skin a little worse for wear than Elsa's had been, slightly redder and a tad more irritated, but it was amazing to feel the air on them again, and she smiled despite the discomfort at the welcome sensation.

"There," Pabbie said, a little out of breath now, but he looked satisfied with his work. "I apologise for the state of your hands - I only developed the concept for the spell last night, so I'm not entirely masterful with it. That being said, you should stop feeling the effect within an hour or two."

Elsa smiled at the troll. "It's quite alright," she said, as she tried not to scratch her hands, "It's nice to be free of them. And you got rid of the stitches, too, which I doubt any other doctor could have done."

Pabbie nodded his head. "Exactly," he commented, but clearly wasn't done, "However the main reason I interfered was because you will be needing your powers when you leave. Uncontrollable powers would not have been of much use to you, otherwise I would have left them on. I hate to cause distress, but it was the best way to solve the situation."

Elsa nodded in understanding, then Pabbie rolled back away from the group and glanced up at the brightening sky, studying the sun silently for a few seconds before letting out a little sigh. "It must be nearly eight o'clock, now," he commented, as he made small gestures to his fellow trolls to stay back, "The men chasing you must have gained a fair amount of ground since yesterday, so if you are to stand any chance of getting away with your group intact, I must insist that you leave right away. With luck, you may be able to escape any form of conflict."

Elsa looked around herself at the group and, after noting that they all appeared ready to go, nodded again in response to the instructions; thanking the trolls graciously for all their help, her eyes lingering the longest upon Pabbie for all he'd done for her, she gently pushed High Flyer up into a rapid walk with the rest of her family surrounding her quickly. The rest of the community remained - with much frustration - behind now, but their cheers of 'good luck' and 'safe travels' were easily heard amongst the sobs of the child trolls.

As the haven of the trolls' residence faded from view, the entire group felt the same as the gentle reassurance of safety which had been promised inside the valley began to fade, to be replaced by an unwelcome but horrifically familiar sense of terror and dread.

* * *

**First thing I'd like to point out is that perhaps ****Elsa seems to be losing control extremely often recently, and that's because she _is_. She's terrified that she and her family will be caught again by Arne and dragged back to the underground house where they had been kept; on top of that, she's absolutely exhausted from running for so long, and her body is undernourished anyway. If that wasn't enough, she doesn't feel like she deserves love so often, because of her brands which have 'claimed' her as property of whoever SI is (I'm sure most of you have worked it out by now) and her weakness, and now especially because she's carrying a child who has a 50/50 chance of being one of Arne's men's offspring, rather than Odd's. Not to mention her body will be overrun with loads of sudden new hormones. If that wasn't enough to send her mind into turmoil and justify her losing control, I don't know what is.**

**And just on a side note... Wooooo! There's a new baby Princess (in real life). Ahaa, it means nothing but I love having a monarchy! (AND SHE HAS THE SAME NAME AS ME, HAPPY DAYS INDEED!)**

**So, I'll see you next Friday (by which time I'll have done 4 of my exams! Only 500 billion or so to go!)**

**-SG**


	22. Chapter 22 - dedicated to Pabulover123

_**Elsa looked around herself at the group and, after noting that they all appeared ready to go, nodded again in response to the instructions; thanking the trolls graciously for all their help, her eyes lingering the longest upon Pabbie for all he'd done for her, she gently pushed High Flyer up into a rapid walk with the rest of her family surrounding her quickly. The rest of the community remained - with much frustration - behind now, but their cheers of 'good luck' and 'safe travels' were easily heard amongst the sobs of the child trolls.**_

_**As the haven of the trolls' residence faded from view, the entire group felt the same as the gentle reassurance of safety which had been promised inside the valley began to fade, to be replaced by an unwelcome but horrifically familiar sense of terror and dread.**_

* * *

_PeruvianInca_: **I'm glad you look forward to updates :)**

_OmegaMarker:_ **You're welcome for the dedication - your review was great to read! Anyway, onto the review - when you put it that way, yes, I suppose Grand Pabbie's decision to give Elsa the herb was possible a foolish one when you think that it would be killing a child, or possibly leaving said child alive but with a disability (though this is not a definite side effect of the herb, there would be about a 60-40 chance of the child being born deformed). But in some ways, it was also a wise decision for him to make because the group be facing danger in the future - that much is a given if they want to get their kingdom back as they'll have to face Ayla to do so - and in which case, being pregnant could be dangerous. I don't know if you can remember the last time Elsa faced Ayla when she was pregnant? She ****ended up nearly losing Freddie when Ayla sped up her pregnancy, had to endure an extremely painful birth and would have ended up dying had she not managed to give birth to Freddie when she did (because Ayla's spell had made him grow at such a rapid rate, he would have eventually died but continued to grow and there would have been too much pressure on Elsa's organs). What's more, Elsa will need to be able to think rationally, and if she's constantly thinking about a child which she despises, she _won't_ be able to think rationally. You also mentioned in the review that Odd doesn't know about this herb, but whether Elsa will tell him or not... well, we'll have to see! As for making the Friday evening posting, well, I normally manage to post at about 11 pm, so I did quite well last week (it worked out well, because revising meant I got bored so I'd take a break and write!) **

_asome (guest): _**Yeah, Elsa is having a pretty hard time, isn't she... Thanks for the review!**

_Klime (guest):_ **Ahaa, I love how Grand Pabbie's now considered a prophet to you ;) He's going up in the world! As for Elsa's capabilities, you mentioned that she managed to change the direction of the ice when it was going to hit Kristoff, but I think you misunderstood - she had been aiming for Odd, but because of the gloves the ice was sent in the wrong ****direction, towards Kristoff instead. It was Anna who jumped in and changed the direction of the ice (remember she can channel/harness Elsa's magic in this series?) Anyway, thanks for the review, it means a lot!**

_Pabulover123_**: Elsa's life is full of difficult choices at the minute, isn't it? As for your wish for me elaborating on her mindset, don't worry; there will definitely be instances of her considering what to do. I must admit, in some ways Pabbie may have even been cruel giving her a choice - at least beforehand she didn't have to make a choice, just had to live with the pregnancy. Also, I'm glad Odd's risen in your list of fictional husbands, and to be just behind Peeta (although frankly, I was always a KatnissxGale girl myself) and Ron, well, that means a lot! That being said, I can't quite decide how long your 'favourite husbands' list is... If I'm that high up, there can't be more than 4 characters on it! But either way, thanks for the review - you made my bleary day of revising that much more bearable.**

_Aggsun (guest)_**: It's nice that I'm one of your favourite authors, that means a lot :) and as for updating more in the summer... well, ****probably not I'm afraid. I'll still be especially busy, but the chapters might be longer! (That being said, who knows, maybe the story will be starting to come to an end by that point anyway. What a strange thought... this story's been part of my life for a year and a half now, life'll be strange without it). As for what I'll write next when the story's finished... well, honestly I'm not sure. I've been thinking I might write a Harry Potter ****fanfic, alternatively I did have an idea for a How to Train Your Dragon one (but I think I've scrapped that now) and also I was thinking about a 'Frozen cast watching Frozen' story or an 'Elsa and Anna's parents alive' story. But don't fret - I'll probably be writing some short one-shots for this series in the future too (sort of like "Dawn's Poem" but stories rather than poetry)! I don't think I can bear to completely leave it, I expect it'll take a while before I can accept that it's no longer such a massive part of my life.**

_WildVirus (guest):_ **You're right, if Elsa and / or Anna take the herb, there is still the chance that they'll remain pregnant but with a potentially disabled child, which wouldn't be good, and they would feel extremely guilty in that case. That being said, who knows how rationally they're actually thinking right now...**

* * *

"Here," Elsa said gently as she leaned backwards and felt around inside her saddlebag, before pulling her hand out and handing a small piece of burdock to the young boy sat in front of her, who then scrunched his nose up in distaste. No one could really blame him for the root was hardly appetising, but it was important that he got his strength up now, before he grew sickly again; it was inevitable that he would grow worse soon, for even his magically-enhanced immune system couldn't fight off his infection forever. Pabbie predicted it would be a week before he became feverish again, so he needed feeding up in the meantime. "Come on, Freddie- you've got to eat it."

Freddie groaned at his Mother's insistence, but slowly raised the root to his mouth and took a tentative taste; he winced at the bitter flavour of it and the chewy texture, wishing it could at least be cooked, but that wouldn't happen - there was no time to stop moving now, and no chance to cook food when they got on the boat, considering that it was made of ice.

"Yuck!" He moaned quietly.

Odd, who was riding opposite on Brandy Shot with Thomas, chuckled slightly and gave him a thumbs up. "Good boy, Freddie," he said gently, but his son only pouted, sending him a frustrated pout in response. Thomas, in turn, laughed at his cousin in amusement, a true and happy sound which had been so rare recently, and grinning, he rolled his eyes at the slightly older prince.

"Oh, be quiet, Freddie!" He teased light-heartedly, "You love it really!"

Freddie gave a slight grin in return. "Oh, really? You want a bit?" He called back to his cousin as he leaned over, trying to force the root into Thomas' mouth who quickly avoided it.

"Bleurgh - that stinks!" He cried in disgust, "Okay, fine, you can keep moaning - just don't make me eat it!"

The group all grinned at this comment with Freddie looking rather pleased (until he was forced to take another bite, which immediately made him more frustrated again). Anna giggled especially, and turned her head to look back at her son with a playful glint in her eyes.

"You know that you'll have to eat that when we're on the boat, don't you Tom?" She teased cheekily, and Kristoff, who was sat opposite her on Lysse with Mia, shoved her shoulder gently in a scolding manner, though she knew he meant well; in response, she simply shrugged happily, whilst Thomas groaned loudly at the wicked promise that he would to eat the muck which his cousin was now being made to stomach.

Kristoff was next to look back at his son, and Mia slowed Lysse down a little so that they were walking alongside Brandy Shot. "Hey, it won't taste so bad if you eat it with some duck, hmm?" He suggested, though his face wasn't quite as enthusiastic as he made out, thoughts of Sven still plaguing his mind; the trolls had agreed to watch out for him whilst Kristoff was away, but he still worried about him.

Thomas nodded at his father's words, but he couldn't help but ask with large puppy-dog eyes, "Can't I _just_ have the duck?" His voice was sweet and innocent and large chocolate-brown orbs shone pleadingly at Kristoff; Mia, however, wouldn't be fooled and she quickly moved Lysse away from her brother before his angelic face made her father cave in. In response, the young prince was quick to send her a scowl, calling out, "You big spoilsport, Mi!" as she went.

In turn, she smiled slightly, giggling very quietly for a second before quietening down, though she was still amused; her heart remained warm, even as her laughter quickly died. Mia had always been a rather serene girl after all, and even at her happiest she rarely ever showed a fraction of the excitement her peers were capable of expressing. Perhaps she was born an eccentric child like her Mother; perhaps she had been meant to be a carefree child like her brother, or even a hot-headed but loving girl as her sister. Whatever characteristics she had possessed as a baby, though, were lost to her now; her time in the caves, with all of its brutal punishment and malnourishment, and her time living in the Southern Isles with Hans and Ayla, where everything she was told was a lie, and where evil lurked around every corner disguised as her saviour, had left her as just an echo of the girl she'd been before.

"Hmm, I guess I am, aren't I Tom?" She called back teasingly in response to his comment, and the boy huffed at this, mumbling about how evil his big sister was, though Mia was unfazed by this; she knew he was only playing with her, so she didn't mind all that much.

Perhaps it was the combination of adrenaline and the fear that they'd be ambushed that was spurring the group on, but all in all their spirits had remained quite high throughout the entirety of the journey; even by the time the sun began to fall below the horizon, its fiery tendrils painting the sky in a red and orange tantrum of colour, the general mood was still relatively cheerful and positive, considering the situation. The animals all walked along with a slight spring in their step, possibly also a side effect of the rich grass that grew in the trolls' valley which they'd been denied of for a while, and their riders all talked quietly amongst themselves, trying to keep the zeal as high as could be expected; only Elsa remained withdrawn and quiet, along with little Mia, although she was happy to participate in conversation and was only being so placid because such was her nature.

By the time the sun disappeared, however, the group's happy disposition began to crumble; according to Kristoff, who knew this area the best, they were still a few hours' walk away from the sea and travelling in the darkness was, obviously, extremely dangerous. He also couldn't help but add as a side comment that there were plenty of wolf packs around here too, as well as the odd lynx scattered about, which struck fear into the hearts of the group, the reminder painful even though they all knew already of the predators' existence in the kingdom's forests.

Everyone knew, however, there wasn't the time to stop moving now; it seemed almost impossible that Arne and his men would have given up on searching for them considering how valuable the females in the group were to their sick little scheme, Anna and Elsa especially as the two oldest, and even if they weren't being followed by them, there was no doubt there would be animals around here, hungry. Stopping in a cave could have been a reasonable option except at present, there were no caves in sight - just and endless maze of trees.

Soon it got too dark to even see and - which much reluctance - Elsa agreed to make a ball of glowing ice with her powers to light the way. She wasn't foolish; she kept it small so as not to give out too much illumination, just enough to see but hopefully not so much that it could be noticed from a long distance, and she was careful to keep it hovering fairly low at about the height of the horses' shoulders, so that hopefully this would also draw less attention to them. A bead of light in the darkness was sure to attract unwanted interest; indeed, multiple small animals had begun scampering around the group, drawn by the glow and the safety which it provided from predators.

Around an hour later however, things were still looking bleak- the animals were stumbling about on sore feet, understandably exhausted; hunger was making the group's already low morale even worse, and if that wasn't bad enough they were still about an hour's walk away from the coastline.

The silence allowed Elsa's mind to wander from its usual topic - her pregnancy - as she began to wonder how they would manage to accomplish their target; to find Karleif and his Mother's 'headquarters', so to speak. She couldn't deny the usefulness of such a search - if Ayla's magic had come from the same source as her mother's and brother's then any clues on how they harnessed the powers could be priceless information in how to defeat them - but it seemed like such an impossible task. They had nowhere to start, and Elsa couldn't help but wonder if, after almost eight years since Karleif and his Mother died, the place would even exist still. That being said, surely Pabbie wouldn't send them on a wild goose chase - he must have had some knowledge that such a place existed.

Elsa was snapped out of her pondering by a loud whine from behind the group and she quickly spun High Flyer around to see Seier laying on the floor, looking completely exhausted and his moans suggested nothing other than pain. He looked up at Anna with large black eyes and in the light from the ball of ice the pleading look gave his obvious message; he couldn't keep going anymore. Honestly, everyone was amazed he'd managed to keep going for this long, even if he had been falling behind the rest of the group for quite a while now; with his injured foot he had limped bravely along, but the weakened limb clearly couldn't support him anymore.

Anna's heart melted and she leaned down from Misty's back, holding tightly onto Kari with one arm as she tried to reach for Seier's collar. The wolf crawled forward slowly, panting loudly, but his 'mother' wasn't quite strong enough to pull him up, and she looked to her own husband desperately, hoping he'd help to lift the animal onto Misty's back; thin as he was, though, Seier was still a very heavy creature.

Elsa, on the other hand, wasn't quite so happy to allow Kristoff to help Anna; though it wouldn't take long, the time it would take him to dismount with Mia, then lift Seier up onto Misty's back, and then finally get back onto Lysse and get ready to go seemed like too much of a delay. She knew she was being paranoid, but every second was precious if they were being followed and so she quickly stepped in; concentrating, she felt her power build up before she released it, making a column below Seier to raise him up to the same height as Anna, who then beamed at her sister and dragged the wolf onto her lap with Kari.

He wriggled about uncomfortably, feeling unsafe upon the horse's back - the very reason Anna had allowed him to walk on his own for all this time, knowing how much he hated being carried on a horse if he could still make his own way - before he finally settled down a little as his 'mother' softly stroked his head. He stiffened up noticeably as a rather displeased Misty began to move again, but Anna held him close and while she then took the reins to direct her horse, Kari stroked Seier repeatedly, trying to soothe him, frustrated with his wriggling.

"Come on," Elsa said quietly, glancing around uneasily, her voice just loud enough to be heard, "We need to get moving if we're going to ever reach the sea before tomorrow morning, and I don't feel quite right here."

A mumble of quiet - and rather unenthusiastic - agreement rung out among the group and, after the momentary break, they continued on in the direction in which they knew the sea could be found; after a surprisingly short while they could even detect a faint salty smell in the still night air. At this point, the group's spirits were lifted slightly as the possibility of finally reaching their destination dawned upon them; even the horses' gait picked up a little as well when they recognised the way their riders sat a little more upright in the saddle and how their posture grew slightly more slackened and calm.

Elsa, however, remained solemn, even as the salty smell of the sea grew stronger. She was a little happier to know that they were all so close to freedom now - or at least they would be a bit safer, anyway - but her mind was still trapped in a vortex of thoughts, leaving her confused as to what she should do; should she keep this _thing_ \- she couldn't quite bear to think of it as a baby anymore for doing so only made the pain worse - or try to get rid of it? In some ways, it would clear the problem up, but it could make it all hundreds of times worse as well.

"Elsa?" Odd called from his wife's side, and she whipped her head around at lightening speed at the unexpected sound before she visibly relaxed a little. In response, he chuckled quietly, saying teasingly, "A little jumpy there, aren't we?" His tone was light-hearted enough, but he was evidently concerned, his green eyes not quite as bright in the light from the ice as they should have been, instead taking a slightly duller hue.

"I was just thinking a little- you startled me." Elsa replied quietly as she looked around quickly before her eyes settled on Odd and she smiled at him reassuringly, though she could feel her palms becoming sweaty as her sense of uneasiness grew; immediately she tightened her grip on Freddie who was sat in her lap and she shortened High Flyer's reins in anticipation. These actions didn't go unnoticed by Odd who looked at her worriedly and, after a few seconds of silence in which she wished he would say something so that she wouldn't have to, Elsa let out a little sigh and gave in, not wanting to confess to the sources of her distress.

"Something's not right and I really don't feel comfortable with all of us being out here; it feels as if we're being watched and I just can't shake the feeling." She glanced at Odd slowly, as if he'd think she was going mad, but he just nodded for her to continue, knowing that wasn't all. "I- I also can't stop thinking about... Well, my situation." She winced as she said those words and looked down at the top of Freddie's head in shame, and she knew that no matter what Odd said she would always be repulsed by her pregnancy; the only circumstance in which she could see herself accepting the child would be if it was not sired by one of those brutes. She wouldn't need much reassurance - any trait of Odd's in the child would do, but she could hardly see her luck turning that way.

Odd frowned slightly, but he didn't say anything at first before he replied, "Hey, don't worry about it. We'll get onto the sea, and then we'll talk about this, hmm?"

Elsa didn't make any movement in response, mumbling something incoherently as she went off into her own little world again, before she suddenly jerked her head up and looked around wildly. The horses snorted loudly as they suddenly began to prance and Lysse let out a small bleat of distress while Seier growled from his spot on Misty's back, who then began to kick out in instinctive fear.

Odd's eyes widened and Anna yelped in surprise, whilst Kari let out a strangled yell; Thomas and Freddie looked to eachother fearfully, suddenly aware that, just as Elsa had said, something was wrong; Kristoff grabbed hold of Mia suddenly, and, in everyone else's temporary hesitation, he yelled "Run!" as a large arrow whistled past, just clipping Brandy Shot's left ear, making him cry out in fear.

The group didn't take any more encouragement as they began to bolt in the direction of the sea; the horses screamed loudly in fear as arrows and spears whistled past dangerously close, and their riders hung on tight as they were sent on a terrifying ride as their mounts tripped through the forest at twenty miles per hour, almost falling over tree roots and rocks in their hastiness to escape; Elsa's ball of light had since gone out, and they were literally running blind, only able to stick together by looking out for the faint outlines against the sky.

"Come on, come on!" Elsa cried, her previous worries replaced with the need to get away; she couldn't let her family go back into Arne's control, and a small part of her even considered that her baby would be killed if they did. It didn't take long for her to feel sickened by the thing again though. "I can smell the sea!"

Hooves thundered across the uneven ground creating a cacophony of noise loud enough to scare any wild creature away, but the group's persuers were beasts of an entirely serpearate category, and with every metre the royals ran, their predators could seem to take two.

From her left, Elsa quickly noticed the sound of a man galloping towards her, and she steeled herself for an attack, unable to quite find him through the darkness. She held one palm out and shooted blindly, beams of ice flying in all directions before she froze the floor and left the man slipping over on his horse. She grinned slightly i triumph, and then noticed the sea, shimmering not too far away.

"We're nearly there!" She cried, trying to urge everyone on; Anna at least cheered, before she bit an approaching man's arm and gave him a strong slap to the face, which made a delicious _thwap_ sound.

As the trees thinned out, the group was suddenly able to run faster, gaining a little distance between them and their pursuers; as they approached the sea, Elsa brought forth, with only a little difficulty, a fairly small but beautiful boat of ice, before she encouraged her family to jump straight from the low edge onto the ship, only about a five or six metre distance. She stood around with Odd as they all leaped, the horses needing some encouragement to jump off of a edge, unsurprisingly.

"Stop!" A voice yelled, and Odd visibly tensed up as he snarled, "_Arne_," just as Anna made the jump with Kari and Misty onto the ship. The moonlight shone down fairly strongly on the uncovered forest edge, illuminating the sick man's simply wicked grin.

"Odd, _go_," Elsa whispered as she stared at the man, drawing a terrified Freddie closer to her chest protectively. Odd, who was clutching Thomas still, looked horrified by the proposal.

"No, Elsa- you can't stay here, especially-" Odd began, but didn't have chance to finish his sentence as Elsa created a gust of wind behind Brandy Shot and forced the horse to make the jump down onto the ship, leaving her alone with the men as she called back, "No time to argue!"

Arne, meanwhile looked rather amused. "Well, dear girl, you really ought to sort out your priorities; sacrificing yourself and your son - my Grandson, might I add - for him? He's not worth it, but I'm not complaining. You're the one we want, not him." Arne pushed his horse to take a step forward, and Elsa felt her heart rate increase just as High Flyer began dancing about. She held him still, not letting him follow his companions to safety just yet.

"You are mistaken, Arne," Elsa said in as strong a voice as she could possibly muster as she used her powers to make wind behind the sail of the ice-boat behind her, "I'm not sacrificing anyone at all; I fully intend to join my family."

One second was all she needed; with shaking hands, she sent a beam of ice straight towards the psychopath's head, hitting him squarely in the forehead and he crumpled to the ground from his horse's back. She sat there, shocked for a few precious seconds as she regarded what she'd done, horrified, until Arne's men moved forwards quickly, snarling, and rushed to grab her. With a sharp tap to her gelding's side with her heels, High Flyer leaped off of the cliff and, with an additional gust of wind from Elsa to propel him the short distance forwards, he just managed to land on the icy deck of the ship, narrowly avoiding ending up in the sea as the craft had begun to move away.

He lost his footing the second he landed, as it seemed all of the other horses had, and his riders ended up sliding across the deck along with him; after protecting Freddie by holding him tightly to her chest, Elsa stood up and looked up to the men on the edge of the cliff once she got over the shock. She made a larger, brighter ball of light now and laughed slightly at their faces, masks of rage, and she lifted her hand to them, waving goodbye tauntingly.

They were free; now they just had to survive the sea crossing.

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**Okay, so over the next few weeks, I'm expecting that chapters will be about 2500 words long (not including chapter comments), whereas usually they are about 3000 to 3500 words long. So, in other words, they'll (probably) be somewhere around two thirds of the normal length - sorry about that! Who knows, though... They could end up being the normal length! It all depends on how much time I have (and how much inspiration, you know what's coming - with my exams and time cut short, I need reviews more than ever if you guys want updates on time (especially longer updates) so just leave a quick comment! And I make sure to reply to all comments, so you get something back too... So if you want any little tidbits of spoilers, you know what to do!)**

**On that note, I'd better get back to studying for my English Lit exam on Monday because sadly, my quality of writing isn't good enough to be considered on par with the course books' quality so I can't just write and pretend _that's _classed as revising... Ah well, a girl can dream! (Especially one who's hyper on revision food a.k.a. chocolate, my poor, poor thighs... and just to add, I was reading a "Harry Potter fans' problems" thing and supposedly I can't blame dements for my addition to chocolate! How unfair...)**

**And finally, sorry for updating late - if I will write when sat in bed I'm bound to fall asleep one day!**

**-SG**


	23. Chapter 23 - dedicated to WildVirus

_**One second was all she needed; with shaking hands, she sent a beam of ice straight towards the psychopath's head, hitting him squarely in the forehead and he crumpled to the ground from his horse's back. She sat there, shocked for a few precious seconds as she regarded what she'd done, horrified, until Arne's men moved forwards quickly, snarling, and rushed to grab her. With a sharp tap to her gelding's side with her heels, High Flyer leaped off of the cliff and, with an additional gust of wind from Elsa to propel him the short distance forwards, he just managed to land on the icy deck of the ship, narrowly avoiding ending up in the sea as the craft had begun to move away.**_

_**He lost his footing the second he landed, as it seemed all of the other horses had, and his riders ended up sliding across the deck along with him; after protecting Freddie by holding him tightly to her chest, Elsa stood up and looked up to the men on the edge of the cliff once she got over the shock. She made a larger, brighter ball of light now and laughed slightly at their faces, masks of rage, and she lifted her hand to them, waving goodbye tauntingly.**_

_**They were free; now they just had to survive the sea crossing.**_

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_ElsaAnnaforlife: _**You asked whether Arne and his men are gone and, I'm afraid to say, no, they aren't completely gone. They will still have some roles in the story and some influence on everyone's lives, but they won't be seen as much as they have been. But don't forget about them; they will pop back at some point! And I'm glad you're liking the story!**

_Pabulover123: _**First of all, I agree with you when you say that it's nice for the royals to still be able to have some happy family moments together, even after everything that's been going on - without the little bits of happiness, they'd probably have never even escaped from Arne the first time! Next, your comment about Elsa made me laugh, and I'm glad you liked her attack on Arne (believe me, it made me feel smug as I wrote it!) And finally, you say that there'll be struggles to cross the sea, "knowing me" - how rude! Okay, no, I'm joking and yeah, you're probably right. I do enjoy being annoying and throwing spanners into the works, don't I?**

_Aggsun (guest):_ **I'm not quite sure why you're concerned about Mia considering that she wasn't even in this chapter all that much, but that being said, things are going to be very difficult for the whole group for a while yet! As for when they'll get back to Arendelle... well, it may be a while I'm afraid, considering that it's not exactly the safest place for them at the moment. But I'm glad you look forward to updates - that makes me happy. Just bear in mind that while you're hanging off the edge of your bed for updates, please don't fall or you'll hit your head and won't be able to read said updates!**

_WildVirus (guest):_ **Ahaa, I'm glad you liked when Elsa laughed at them in their faces - I thought that was quite an uplifting thing to do. At least it'll probably help relieve some of the group's tensions, anyway! As for Freddie eating the root, yeah, it wasn't very nice - this would have been even worse than your Mum's ginger tea, considering it isn't even a tea, just a plain old root. Bleurgh! And also, I dreamt of goats last night, not FP ideas, sorry!**

_PeruvianInca:_ **Thanks, I hope you like this chapter too!**

_OmegaMarker:_ **Ahaa, Elsa did do quite well with shooting Arne, didn't she? And yes, it is a relief they all made it out okay, except for Arne as you say - that's possibly even more of a relief that he got some form of punishment! But he'll live, I'm afraid - I'm not quite sure how getting shot in the head works, but I'm going to assume that it'll just knock him out for quite a while, maybe a few days (and he'll get a blonde ****streak in his hair as well, which is black, as a side comment). And you mention about navigating to Corona on the open sea, so that's a fairly easy one to get around- the trolls gave the group all sorts of gifts before they left, and one of them would have been an old compass of Kristoff's as a kid. That being said, they'll probably have to stop on the way or they might end up starving! And I'm glad the chapter wasn't too shabby xD**

_KLime (guest):_ **First off, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. As you mentioned, the last chapter did start out playful, but then in the end I figured we needed something to happen and as you say, chases are always fun. I'm also glad that you liked Elsa's portrayal in the chapter and I must admit, she did do well under pressure to be able to create the boat and get away from Arne as well. That being said, she'll have to make some touches to it because it won't be quite right considering how rushed she was when she made it. Next, you mentioned Arne would have been suspicious of Elsa's lack of gloves; personally, I don't think he'd have realised at first that her gloves weren't there, and like you say, he would have been relishing in how great he was to have tracked them down. However don't worry - he will have realised by the time he comes around from being shot and then, as you say, he may start wondering who would have helped her. We'll definitely be seeing more of him in the future...**

_Purple Pizza:_ **"I hope Arne dies ****brutally." Wow, you sound like a lovely person... I'm kidding of course, but still... Eh, come to think of it, a brutal death does sound appealing... And my exam didn't go too badly, ran out of time but I don't think I messed up the questions too badly!**

_spartandestroyr:_ **First off, OHMYGOSH I SPELT YOUR NAME RIGHT! Took me long enough... Anyway, onto the review - you certainly seem to have a tiny dislike of Arne... But unfortunately, being the evil author I am, I'm going to say that no, Arne isn't dead. (Sorry, please forgive me!) As for branding him... well, he'll have the same little blonde streak in his hair that Anna had, so you could count that as a sort of mark of Elsa's (he certainly wouldn't like that...)**

* * *

The fighting had lasted barely a day, but the casualties had been great; at least two hundred men, women and children alike now lay in hospitals, fighting for their lives valiantly as their bodies tried to give in; another thirty or so had died in the midst of the fighting, leaving behind many more grieving friends and family.

It had been Monday when the fighting had taken place - such a bitter start to the week which had left everyone feeling especially disheartened, even the few families unaffected by the battle - and now, two days later on Wednesday, it was time for the country to pay its respects and move on as quickly as possible from the tragedy. It was Hans' belief that if the people were allowed to mourn their loved ones for a long time then they would find it harder to get back into the normal routine; in response, his Father heartily agreed with this claim, mainly because he "recognised the connection Hans and Ayla shared" and therefore trusted his judgement; of course, their marriage had been nothing more than a business arrangement to improve the Prince's appearance for his country and to make it easier for him and his consort to discuss their plans, but the King didn't need to know that particular tidbit of information. As far as he and his people were concerned, Hans and Ayla were the perfect couple; they had an "adopted" son - though many people were eager for the pair to have their own child too, which they had sworn to each other would not happen - and they clearly adored each other (or rather, the power the other held, but again that was irrelevant).

It had been this new portrayal of them which had truly earned the Prince's support of the people and his Father again, everyone believing him to truly be reformed from his past actions, and along with the trust had come the power, slowly but surely, that he'd always wanted. No longer was he the ignored 13th-in-line Prince of the Southern Isles; perhaps his older Brothers still told him what to do at times, but they respected him now as well and frankly, with Ayla's partnership, he was much stronger than all of them combined. That being said, there were only seven of them left now, with the two youngest after Hans having died trying to protect their people on the Monday; first it had been Bjørn, killed by a spell placed upon him by Ayla's late mother, then the three others who had been killed by Ayla herself when they got in the way of their plans. Now, with the other two out of the way... Well, there wasn't so much competition anymore.

"Your Highness," a voice came through the silence making Hans look around quickly before his eyes settled upon a soldier who was stood behind him, a young man dressed entirely in formal attire, whose hand was hovering near to the handle of the sword which rested in its sheath on his hip. His eyes were gaunt and lifeless and his posture was slightly slouched though he was evidently attempting to look confident; he did not hold a smile on his face, nor a frown, but the pain shone through anyway.

Hans nodded to signal to the man that he could continue, and the soldier finished in a slightly shaking voice, "We are ready to begin the procession. Your wife, along with the King and Queen and your fellow Princes, along with their partners, are already outside in the courtyard; we just need you and the young Prince, and then we are ready to go."

Hans nodded and smiled reassuringly at the soldier, using his old charm to install a sense of calmness and trust in the man who, in response, allowed his hand to shift from its position near the handle of his sword. It was a frustrating thing to notice for Hans; he hated being reminded that no matter how hard he tried, there were still a few people who distrusted him.

"Thank you," he said simply and turned to leave before a thought struck him; looking back behind himself, he saw the young man standing in the same spot and looking slightly awkward, clearly waiting to be dismissed, but Hans had a much better plan - and for once, there was nothing twisted in his intentions. "Would you mind accompanying me to fetch my-" the word was still difficult to say, but he forced it out without too much of a pause, hardly any sign of his dislike for the boy coming out in his voice, "son? I'd greatly appreciate the company; it's been a sombre morning today and there has been little chance to talk with anyone."

The soldier looked taken aback and just a little nervous, but he had no choice in the matter either way and so nodded slowly, trotting up to the Prince quickly so as not to keep him waiting. Hans nodded to the young man gratefully and then began to walk in the direction of his son's room, trying to think of what to say. In bringing the soldier along and showing off how he was now a father who looked out for his 'adopted' child, Hans hoped that he could display to his companion how he was, indeed, a changed man from the 'monster' he had been many years ago - or at least, that was how others thought of him. Honestly, he saw himself as more of an opportunist, if a slightly radical example of one, but that was besides the point.

After about half a minute of silence, Hans broke the silence eventually. "So, tell me, what's your name? Forgive me, but I don't recall ever seeing you around before."

The soldier replied automatically, a little too quickly in a way which suggested he feared his head would end up on a stake if he didn't reply immediately, evidence enough that he was uncomfortable. "Adam, Sir," he replied respectfully in a rushed voice, but he used the same tone as before - lifeless and dull. "I usually work in the villages; I've never been inside the castle before."

"I see." Hans replied and then there came another silence, and the Prince felt a little unsure of what to say; Adam seemed very distracted and wasn't really all that talkative, making keeping a conversation going tough. He tried a few more attempts at making small talk but without much success, and in the end settled for trying to work out what was the matter.

"What is on your mind, young man?" He asked in a gentle tone which was forced but believable, and Adam looked unwilling to respond but also knew he had no choice.

"My brother was killed in the fighting on Monday," he said reluctantly, and looked away from the Prince in shame, "and the pain of his death is... still raw, I guess. It's barely been over a day, after all, and I know what the King said about how allowing ourselves too much time to mourn will only make the pain worse, how we have to keep busy and get over it quickly, but it just hasn't been enough time for me to get over my brother and I feel like I'm letting everyone down in being so weak and-" The man had suddenly began to ramble on as he got increasingly worked up and distressed, and Hans acted quickly to calm him down.

"Hey, hey," he said in a firm yet calming voice, and he felt confident when Adam looked at him slowly, knowing he'd gotten a reaction and that in his current state the young soldier would be weak and open to reassurance, a perfect way to raise his opinion of his Prince. It was important to Hans that he had as many loyal followers as possible; there would be tough times ahead in the future if he was to make the Southern Isles a truly strong country again, so he would need his people to have a favourable impression of him to keep them trusting him through darker days. "Don't feel guilty about mourning your brother still, for that is what today is for. Grieve for him now, get it completely out of your system so that by tomorrow, you'll feel slightly better; we aren't expecting people to just ignore the loss of a loved one, such a feat would be impossible, but letting the sorrows out in one day and then getting to work after will help with the pain."

The soldier looked unconvinced. "I don't mean to question your methods, your highness, but why shouldn't we mourn for longer than just a few days? It doesn't seem like long enough." Adam stepped away from his companion slightly as he said this as if fearing that he would be angry at being questionned, but Hans didn't make any outward signs of anger; instead, he gave a slight smile, and looked down at the floor as if he was pained himself.

"I am sure you know that two of my own brothers were killed in the fighting on Monday as well, as they helped hold off the attackers?" Hans queried, and the soldier looked a little uncomfortable.

"Of course, your Majesty, but... pardon me, but it is a common fact that you are not on the best of terms with your elder siblings." He said in his dull voice before he looked up to Hans for conformation of his assumption who, in return, gave a weak chuckle.

"Yes, yes, I suppose you are right, however, that does not dismiss the fact that they are - _were_ \- still my brothers, and I grieved for them just as you do now." The lie rolled off of Hans' tongue easily, and he carried on. "As you say, I was never all that close with my brothers and as such my sorrows aren't as great, but I've learnt how to deal with these things over the years; keeping busy keeps the pain of loss at bay, so don't fret - a few days is plenty enough time. Let out much of your grief today, and then volunteer to help with the building work tomorrow. By the end of the day, I can guarantee you will begin to feel better."

Adam looked a little unsure of Hans' reasoning, but he looked at the Prince with a slightly sympathetic smile and a little more respect, as if he'd noticed that he was, indeed, human. "I apologise, your Majesty; I never realised you actually cared for your siblings. The word in town is that you hate them, but I see that's not true - I'll be sure to correct anyone who misjudges you in future."

Hans nodded gratefully, feeling triumphant; that little conversation had gone better than he'd expected. "Thank you, Adam." He said with a nod, "That means a lot to me. Some people still doubt me after my actions and... it hurts." He trailed off slightly and looked away from Adam as if genuinely distressed; in truth, the matter was more amusing that anything. "But alas, here we are; if you would just wait out here, I'll fetch him?"

Adam nodded as Hans gently knocked on his son's room, and entered at Seth's tiny call of "come in", making sure to close the door firmly so that the soldier couldn't overhear him talking.

"Hello, my son. Don't you look smart?" Though his voice was slightly strained, as it always was when talking with Seth, Hans was gentle and calm for once, something the boy enjoyed.

"Thank you, Sir." He said gratefully and walked over cautiously, not sure how long his father's patience would hold out and well aware of the consequences of getting on his bad side; still, he was an intelligent child and recognised that the man wouldn't slap him in public, so he should be safe for the afternoon at least. He didn't completely understand the implications of the day's events, however; he recalled being told that it was to be a mass funeral today, and that two of his uncles - he didn't really know any of them that well, though - had died in the fighting on Monday, and were to be buried along with the rest of the deceased fighters as a sign of the unity between the royals and their people.

"You ready to go?" Hans asked as he bent down and tightened the little black bow around his son's neck, feeling strangely proud that he looked so smart; it was a rare occurrence that he was actually impressed by Seth, and usually he found something to fault to stop himself from being so weak, but for once he couldn't criticise him. He felt his hopes rise as he began to wonder if, just maybe, there was a chance that the boy wasn't entirely a waste of space after all; perhaps he could have a use, and as the lad nodded in response to his father's question, Hans got an idea which could both test Seth's camouflage ability and his capability to help out. "Come on then, you - best behaviour, please. No silly behaviour, or I _won't_ let you forget it. You are a prince - keep up the reputation."

_There's the old Hans_, Seth thought bitterly, though part of him was relieved that he hadn't changed; after all, change was a terrifying thing because it came with so many unknown consequences so in some ways things were best left just as they were. At least he knew how to deal with an abusive Hans - hide or simply bear his grudge - but a kind, gentle and fatherly Hans was new, and he'd be sailing in unknown waters if that happened.

Following his father out of the room, shifting about in sudden nervousness mixed with a touch of excitement, an action which earned him a soft but firm shove to remind him of how to behave, Seth was quick to notice the soldier, and watched him suspiciously.

"Who're you?" He asked automatically and instantly regretted it as he recieved a small nudge from Hans who then glared at his son, but was quick to amend it into a milder disapproving stare.

"Manners, Seth," he said through gritted teeth, already beginning to doubt his previous enthusiasm for the boy, but in all fairness the young Prince made a good effort to make it up the the soldier.

"Oh- please excuse me, sir. I got rather exciteable there - I love going out into the town!" He didn't seem to notice as he slipped up in the last part of his sentence, switching into the childish voice which came naturally to him, but Hans didn't make a fuss at this; he had, at least, made up for his original rudeness so he knew he couldn't push him. Rather, he wouldn't push him under the circumstances; he needed to gain public support today and shouting at his only son wouldn't do him many favours.

The walk down to the village was uneventful, and Seth chatted eagerly with Adam about horses. The soldier, understandably, was a little held back and tense, but the young boy didn't pick up on this. Hans, however, did, and gave him a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder before they went their separate ways at the castle gates.

Climbing up onto his horse next to Ayla, with Seth sitting on his own smaller pony at her side, Hans grinned at her by way of greeting, but she only scowled.

"Where've you been, Princey-Boy?" She asked in a snappish voice, but she kept quiet so as not to disturb anyone else. "We' r been waiting for at least five minutes!"

"Sorry- Seth was still in his room," he said with a shrug, "I had to go and fetch him."

Ayla huffed in slight annoyance, and Hans chuckled at her. "Dont' moan, you- I'm here now."

"You make it sound as though I missed you." Ayla snapped back, her annoyance growing, and Hans leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

"I think you need some time to... Unwind," he said with a cheeky grin, winking at her, "and to relax. Have a little _fun_... I'm sure I can help with that." In his eyes a mischievous glint rested which should never have been present at such an occasion, but even as they began to march through the streets he didn't lose it.

Ayla, meanwhile, simply frowned at him. "How do you know I even want you?" She asked tersely, sparing a glance at Seth to make sure he wasn't listening before looking back to him.

"You haven't slept with me in ages; of course you do." His tone was lighthearted yet he was serious also; any other woman may have been put off by his arrogance, but Ayla remained impassive. That is, until Hans reached out and ever so gently brushed over the top of her thigh, an action most people around them perceived to be him reassuring her, but he succeeded in making her shiver.

"You evil man," she whispered, her voice slightly higher pitched and she grinned, "You leave a girl like me helpless but to oblige your every wish."

"I don't hear you complaining," he shot back and Ayla shrugged slightly.

"You got me there, Princey." She admitted, and then looked back ahead, "Now come on, you're much too happy for a funeral- tone down that grin on your face or maybe I will start complaining."

Hans gave a little chuckle before he obliged, letting his smirk fall down so that he looked more fitting for the occasion. "Now you've got no choice but to come and see me later," he whispered one last time with a wink which seemed out of place on his seemingly sorrowful face, and Ayla nodded slightly with one last grin herself before she looked forwards, small tears beginning to roll down her cheeks as she dabbed at her eyes with a cloth, perfectly in character.

* * *

One by one, families lowered their loved ones down into the earth with great care, waves of emotion evident everywhere as the deceased were parted with. The coffins were stacked on top of each-other, the bargain which had to be paid for them to rest in peace in such a beautiful area just at the edge of the town. It was a small green and there wasn't enough room for thirty bodies to be laid down individually, but all agreed it was worth the small sacrifice for the breathtaking, stunning views of the sea which overlooked the edge of the area.

At last, two larger, slightly more adorned coffins were lowered down into the earth containing the bodies of the two dead Princes, and a respective silence fell over the mourning crowd, paying their respects to their sacrifice for their Kingdom, while the Queen howled into her husband's shoulder mournfully. Ayla watched on silently, still dabbing at her eyes in a similar fashion to the wives of her husband's surviving siblings, whilst Hans bowed his head and looked down at his hands.

Once the last coffins were placed in the grave, the community came forwards to help cover them over, every person - with the exception of the royals - helping to push the soil back on top of the graves until, after about five minutes of work, there was no sign of them left. A group of at least ten soldiers then came forwards through the crowd, carrying a large, ornate marble cross, shaped by Ayla and carved by the families the day before, on which the names of every person who had fallen were engraved in the writing of their relations.

The headstone was placed in the middle of the grave and Ayla used her magic to secure it down, using her powers next to make small roses begin growing up the edges of the monument before finally adding the finishing touch to the very top of the cross; with a little difficulty to ensure it was kept neat, she slowly wrote a few words in an eloquent script.

_16th February 1848,_

_Their sacrifice shall never be forgotten,_

_The men, women and children who lost their lives protecting their country._

* * *

The moon slid gracefully over the horizon as the sun's light burned out, and the kingdom of the Southern Isles was shrouded in a cloak of darkness. For one day, the whole kingdom had been at a standstill as the people mourned their losses, and no one was going to make them work on that day; tomorrow, it had been arranged for people to all travel down to the western side of the kingdom to help with repairs, keeping themselves busy to help them get over their grief. Today, however, was a day of sorrows.

"Hans? Would you and your consort please come in here?" Came a voice from Hans' side, his Father's voice, as he strolled through the corridors of the castle and, after a moment's surprise, he nodded; commanding Seth to go to his bedroom and get dressed for supper, he entered the meeting with little complaint and sat down at a table, where his fellow Princes and their wives were already seated.

"Late, as usual, little Brother." One of his older brothers sneered, although it was a little more playful than it had been when he was younger; still, the man was sombre and obviously still grief stricken by the loss of two of his own siblings. Hans noddd slightly, not usually one to give in but he wasn't foolish; he recognised that as a 'grieving' man, he wouldn't have all that much to say.

"Now that we are all here," the King began, "I have something I must announce. I am sorry to have to discuss things on a day such as today, but it cannot wait." The king paused for a second as thoughts of his two recently dead sons filled his mind, but he pushed them away. "After the recent attack on the westernmost island of our kingdom, I feel it would be prudent to split the kingdom into six sections; the outer islands, North, East, South, West and the centre. I will be sending each of you to your own section of the kingdom for you to oversee and make strong; hopefully this way, we can be better organised, and claim back our old strength. I shall remain here, along with Hans and his consort. It is up to you to decide among you who shall take each section; please inform me of your choice by tomorrow afternoon."

A murmur of assent rung out through the room, and Hans looked rather eager too, much to the King's surprise.

"The it is settled," he said, before getting up to leave. "That will be all."

The King left the room immediately after, leaving his sons to decide who amongst them should claim each section of their Kingdom. Hand rose quickly after, along with Ayla, and he nodded to his brothers respectfully. "I have no purpose here," he said, though he liked it that way, "So I shall be on my way; good night, Brothers."

Hans exited the room to low murmurs of "G'night." and then grinned widely as soon as he got outside.

"Well, sir- looks like things are going your way." Ayla said with a grin, "I think we ought to celebrate." She winked quickly, and Hans chuckled as his consort stood up and kissed him gently, an action which he returned with passion.

"I couldn't agree more," he said in a deep voice, and Ayla laughed in a girlish way which was so out-of-character for her, before the pair hurried through the halls to the privacy of their room.

Meanwhile, from the edge of the corridor, one little boy frowned; losing his camouflage, Seth watched his parents rushed away, wondering how on earth they could be so happy on such a saddening day. He did consider, for a moment, that perhaps Hans simply didn't care, but he dismissed this thought quickly; no man could be so cold hearted as to not even be slightly bothered by the death of two family members.

Right?

* * *

**We hit 200 reviews last chapter, thanks ****guys! I hope this chapter was good enough to celebrate the event! I thought it would be nice o see a bit more of the Southern Isles' life- we've had loads of time with the Arendelle gang. This is actually a fairly important chapter, though; with the other Princes now taking care of the other islands of the kingdom, Hans will have more of an influence in the main part of the Souther isles.**

**Also, I'm a couple of hours later than I promised; this chapter ended up being so long! Not that that's a bad thing!**

**Next, I will be changing my name to Aeluna at some point after this update, I would've done it sooner but I figured I'd give you guys warning before everything thinks someone's sabotaged my account or something. I don't even know why I was Sophisticated Grace in the first place - all of my other accounts are Aeluna.**

**One last thing, it's my sixteenth tomorrow l and I really love reviews *hint hint* Seriously though, a review would be great (and it _is_ my birthday)**

**See you next week,**

**Luna / SG**


	24. Chapter 24 - dedicated to KLime (guest)

_**Meanwhile, from the edge of the corridor, one little boy frowned; losing his camouflage, Seth watched his parents rushed away, wondering how on earth they could be so happy on such a saddening day. He did consider, for a moment, that perhaps Hans simply didn't care, but he dismissed this thought quickly; no man could be so cold hearted as to not even be slightly bothered by the death of two family members.**_

_**Right?**_

* * *

_Kathy22334 (guest): _**Well done on catching the chapter in under an hour! I normally post at midnight (UK time) so if you live somewhere around here, that could be why you struggle! First off, yep, Seth's definitely getting slightly suspicious (and he should be, let's face it - everything he really knows is a lie). And thanks for the birthday song! I won't lie, I have no idea what you were going on about in the second half, but it's cute anyway! And as for not giving me a present, HOW DARE YOU?! Okay, well, maybe that's a bit over the top, reviews are better than anything you could buy me (except maybe a pony, mine are all lazy or really annoying!) And wow, you moved to China? Cool! Although I don't think I could ever leave the UK... Anyway, you say about spreading the word in your international school for this story, that means a lot to me, and don't worry, that's a great birthday present (like you say, giving out my address may not be the best idea, except I live in the UK, not America... hence the UK spelling of certain words and all that xD ) So, thanks for the birthday wish (number 16 this year, yay!) and I hope you enjoy this chapter too! You deserve it, your review made me smile!**

_KLime (guest)**: **_**Yay, more birthday songs! Thank you! I felt so warm when I read your comment about the story and it being a gift, that really makes my work feel worthwhile and that quote was just lovely and makes me feel bubbly whenever I read it (if it took me a few seconds to understand). I'm glad to have you as such a dedicated reader, it means a lot to me (especially at the moment with all these exams). Anyway, back onto the review; I'm glad you think a Southern Isles chapter was nice and it's nice to know that I got Hans in character still - yay! Although you say he'd fail at the "pay a compliment to each of your kin" game, but I disagree - I can see his answers now: "Brother one, you died and got out of my way, thank you. Brother two, you also died, same goes for you. Brother three, you're still alive but I'm sure you'll die soon, so thanks in advance!" and so on. Wow, Hans would ace that game... Ah, I got sidetracked. You mentioned that I portray Hans and Ayla's relationship differently to Elsa&amp;Odd's and Anna&amp;Kristoff's and yes, you're right - as you guessed, I do enjoy writing their relationship because it gives me a chance to express my own sarcastic (but I'm much less evil, don't worry) nature in my writing. I love the Arendelle pairings for the sweetness, but I won't lie; Hans and Ayla are amazing because they are much more arrogant with each other. Also, thanks for pointing out the mistake with Freddie instead of Seth, I get them confused so much and obviously didn't pick up on that one ;) But don't worry, no more little brats for Ayla (hell, i think she'd commit suicide ****and I like her much too much to kill her off just yet...) Finally, I'm glad you liked the year choice - it's actually six years after the date of death on Dawn's tombstone, thought I'd make sure to get the continuity points there! Finally, yes, I have noticed your reviews are getting longer, and it truly means the world to me (although short reviews are still much appreciated!) It always feels nice to know that my story can evoke so much reaction per chapter and, of course, reviews are great fun to read and put me in that 'I'm really chirpy and happy' mood which is normally non-existent when most of my day consists of staring at a revision guide (or writing an exam, which is even worse!) Gosh this was a long response... hope you've got time when you read this next chapter!**

KLime (guest) Part II: **First off, I'm glad you liked Seth's Lullaby, and also it's nice that I could introduce you to a new song. It isn't the original, but it's based off of it, and I must admit I love the song although I haven't heard it that much myself. Also, as you mentioned, I thought it made sense to have a bit of Hans and Seth time, because while Ayla was the obvious choice I thought it would be nice for a change. And you're welcome for the story as well! **

_asome (guest):_ **Thanks for the Birthday wish :D As for my name change, I guess Sophisticated Grace was quite fitting, but it really bugs me about having so many names, so... And don't worry about forgetting to review last week and possibly being late for this chapter, it's not the end of the world :)**

_spartandestroyr_**: Thanks, I had quite a good day :) And sorry, I know I'm being mean letting Arne live - but just think, revenge is a dish best served cold, is it not? As for your hope that Hans will actually care for Seth one day... Well, he's better than he used to be at least. As you say, though, he only really cares about Ayla (more lust than love, if anything he just respects her which is as close to love as he'll come - unless it's love for himself. He's got plenty of that.) and revenge**

_PeruvianInca:_ **Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :D**

_aggsun (guest): _**Thanks for the birthday wish! (Even if it is late, but that's fine!) And well done for not slipping off of your bed (at first...)**

_anniGirl93: _**Yeah, I meant Seth - keep meaning to go back and fix that and I keep forgetting! Doh! And wow, thanks for that birthday song, it's so pretty - well done to your Mum, she did well with that one! (Thought I'd never heard it before...)**

_OmegaMarker:_ **Yay, thanks for the birthday wish! And no worries about being late, I don't mind (besides, better late than never right?) Ahaa, basically my whole story has been based on it being about 1850 anyway, but it's nice to actually throw in some real, solid dates here and there! Also, I'm glad you liked how Hans' family is presented; frankly, I never noticed quite how much of a contrast they are between the Arendelle family, but it really is true! Thanks for mentioning that! And also, you ask who attacked the Southern Isles, it would have been a neighbour- is there a Northern Isles? Ah, I don't know; it's not really relevant who attacked them anyway! **

* * *

Elsa awoke groggily and she let out a little a sigh, her eyes only partially open and not quite taking in her surroundings as she yawned loudly. Slowly sitting up, she winced as her back ached and complained with every little movement, and with her vision currently blurred she was quick to pick up on the freezing cold temperature of the air surrounding her.

As her senses slowly began to recover from the uncomfortable night's rest, she looked around in an almost dazed fashion at her current surroundings; she was sat on an average-sized deer skin in a small room with overwhelmingly blue walls made of thick ice. Across from her a small, rather sketchily fashioned door could be also be seen and she quickly stumbled up into a standing position, another fur blanket falling off of her as she did so. Ignoring her body's complaints once again, she stiffly walked over and opened it; taking care not to slip over, she stepped outside onto what was obviously the deck of a boat, and she could vaguely remember making one last night though her memories were fuzzy.

"Elsa!" Came an excitable cry from somewhere in front of her, and she looked around quickly, just in time to see a blur with bright strawberry-red hair hurtling towards her. "You're awake! Took you long enough!"

Elsa laughed slightly, a genuine laugh which hadn't been heard in a while, her voice still carrying the faintest traces of sleep. She beamed at her sister in amusement as she opened her arms to accept her oncoming embrace; soon after, however, she had to make a wall of ice behind her to stop herself from falling as the younger princess slipped, hurtling straight into her sibling's waiting arms. "Good morning to you too, Anna." Elsa said with a grin, and softly kissed her sister's forehead before pushing her away, sending her flying backwards on the ice; Kristoff moved quickly and caught her again, and the princess descended into a hysterical fit of giggling as she jumped up and wrapped her arms around her "Saviour's" neck, gently kissing him sweetly.

Just as Elsa began to turn her head, she felt something soft settle on her forehead and she frowned before slowly turning back to watch Anna muttering quietly to Kristoff, giggling happily about something; she wasn't quite sure why she felt such a strong need to do so, but every time she tried to look to the side she found that she couldn't quite bring herself to do it. She quickly started to feel a little panicked, especially when she found that she couldn't move either, forced to just stand there; just then, something cold connected with her head and, in a panic, she spun around quickly, facing a little restriction but breaking through just as she heard a loud yelp coming from her side. She readied her palms quickly, expecting to have to attack, but was instead rewarded with a facefull of snow.

Wiping it off in frustration, she looked around and noticed Odd grinning at her cheekily, whilst Freddie stood next to him looking away slightly, a sweet smile on his face with his hands behind his back as he fidgeted slightly. Even Mia, who was sitting on the icy floor with her back against the walls of the deck, was smiling slightly and looking slightly mischievous, which was rare for the girl who was usually so calm and quiet.

"Alright, who threw that?" Elsa asked sternly, though she was more relaxed now that she'd realised that it wasn't an attack on her, just a little joke.

"Papa did!" Freddie immediately cried out loudly, pointing eagerly to Odd who chuckled slightly and shrugged as if to say, you caught me, grinning at his wife who glared at him in a now-playful way. However, Elsa wasn't naïve, and she looked at her son with soft eyes.

"Did anyone else throw a snowball, Freddie?" She asked gently, and the little boy swallowed, knowing he was in trouble now. He glanced around quickly as if looking for an escape route, and then yelled, "Mia made the snow!" as if that would pass the blame onto her; the young Princess simply nodded in turn as if proud of herself.

"Hmm, yes I did," she said and a slight glint developed in her blue eyes, a mischievous gleam which was uncommon on her face for she was usually so serious, "and little Fredrik here has a very good aim, wouldn't you agree Auntie?"

Elsa laughed slightly. "Why, I'd say you're right, Mi." She looked at her husband and son cheekily herself and opened her palms, small balls of snow materialising and hovering there. "But personally, I think I ought to show these two how it's done."

Her eyes settled on Odd, brightest blue and, as Mia's had been, glinting cheekily; her husband resigned himself to his fate and closed his eyes expectantly, but Freddie wasn't so willing and began to hop about.

"No, Mama-" he began, but had to duck quickly as Elsa sent the snowballs their way; Odd's collided with his face with a dull thud as it turned to powder and fell softly to the floor on the wind. Freddie's barely scraped his forehead and he stood back up with a sigh of relief; Elsa, of course, was waiting for him and the second he straightened up her snowball found it's mark.

"Ugh, Mama!" He cried in annoyance as he spat snow from his mouth. "That's all cold and wet!"

"I know, it's snow." Elsa replied dully to tease him; it was so nice not to be worried for the moment. She knew that there would be dangers during the crossing in the form of other ships, for it was vital that people still believed them to be dead or else there could be a search party sent out by the Royal Advisor, as well as the perilous nature of the waves themselves. If that wasn't enough, within a few days Freddie would be sick again, so she had to make the most of her time with him.

Freddie let out a little huff of indignation as he turned away, folding his arms grumpily as he looked out over the sea, leaning across the wall of the ice ship as he did so and making Elsa's breath catch in her throat slightly; Odd acted quickly and pulled the boy back a little, much to Elsa's relief, giving her the chance to raise the height of the sides and put her mind at ease. She was understandably terrified for everyone onboard; a slippery ice ship was hardly perfect, but it would have to do until they could at least find an island to stay for a few days, gather more resources and make actual beds as opposed to simply sleeping on the floor atop deerskin rugs which the trolls had given them.

After making sure that no-one was going to fall off of the edge of the boat, Elsa shuffled over to Anna and Kristoff - both of whom were still looking amusedly at Freddie and Odd - and remained silent for a moment, before asking questioningly, "What's the time, d'you reckon?" Anna shrugged unknowingly, muttering "We don't have a watch, silly," making Elsa roll her eyes.

"I know, Anna," she said gently, "I wasn't asking you, I was asking Kristoff; I'm assuming you can tell the time by the sun? I never thought to ask before, but I'm assuming you know how to?"

Kristoff looked up at the sky stiffly and frowned for a second, using his hand to shield his eyes from the blaring winter sun before replying, "I'd hazard a guess that it's about half past ten, perhaps eleven?" He looked a little unsure and he shrugged quickly after. "I don't know for sure though; sunrise is at about 8 o clock this time of year, so... must be about then."

Elsa's eyes widened in surprise at this. "Eleven o'clock? Really? How long did I sleep for?"

"I could be wrong about the time-" Kristoff began nervously, but Anna was quick to cut him off as she piped up, "Probably about thirteen or fourteen hours; I don't know if I can remember you ever sleeping for so long! Especially when you're only sleeping on a hard floor!"

Elsa smiled slightly as she blushed a gentle hue of pink. "I guess I was rather tired then? I won't lie - I can barely remember a thing from last night, asides from being chased by Arne and his men."

Anna giggled at this comment and within a few seconds was laughing loudly, clutching Kristoff's side for support; he leaned forwards slightly and muttered, "This sea air doesn't seem to be doing her any good," to which Elsa nodded in agreement, smiling. Luckily it didn't take the Princess too long to recover some of her composure and she fought to stop laughing as she began to talk. "You- You slept through all of yesterday evening!" She blurted, although Elsa couldn't quite fathom why this was supposed to be so hilarious until her sister continued. "Once you jumped on the ship you waved goodbye to the men - good one by the way, they were furious - and then- and then you just fell asleep! Just like that, collapsed right on top of Kristoff here! And you should have seen him - you were red as beetroot, weren't you Kris?"

Elsa's eyes widened in shock as she turned a deep shade of pink herself, quickly muttering, "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!" to a now rather embarrassed Kristoff, who nodded jerkily and looked down at the ground awkwardly. Anna laughed as she went to continue, but Odd was quick to rescue the situation when he came over, mentioning that they really ought to get some breakfast at some point today to which Kristoff agreed heartily, happy to take any excuse to get out of the situation he was now in. Elsa agreed as well, not wanting to get humiliated any more than she already was; calling for Freddie and Mia to come over to the middle of the deck, she then used her powers to craft a table of ice, with the younger girl quickly catching on and helping her aunt to make a set of seats.

Sitting down with Mia and Freddie - the latter of whom refused point blank to look at his mother at all - Elsa waited patiently for the rest of her family to return; Anna had left to fetch Thomas and Kari who were both still asleep after going to bed extremely late the night before, Kristoff had gone to check on the animals and let them out if they so wanted and Odd had left to fetch the food from the saddlebags, though no one was really all that eager for his return. The supplies they had were hardly enjoyable to say the least.

Everyone was quiet as they ate their breakfast, each person being served up an unappetising plate of two raw burdock roots, five dandelion leaves and a handful of red currants, the duck being saved for later on in the day, currently chilled in an ice-room for freshness. The only person to receive a different amount of food was poor little Freddie who was forced to eat more in anticipation for his growing sick again, something which frustrated him greatly as he couldn't quite understand why everyone thought he was going to get ill. As far as he knew, he had gotten over the sickness and was right as rain again; on that note, however, Elsa had also refused to thaw the ice bandage covering his infected shoulder wound. If Freddie saw the condition his arm was currently in... well, he'd certainly understand why everyone knew he would get worse again, if he wasn't already vomiting at the sight of it.

Kristoff and Odd ate their servings without much fuss, both having grown up on (slightly more palatable) versions of the meal, whilst Elsa and Anna forced theirs down too, suffering in silence from both the taste and the memories associated with the dandelion leaves, the former especially hurt with the knowledge that she had come out of the situation with extra baggage, as she would think of it. The children, however, were understandably harder to encourage to eat; it had taken a few firm words to get Mia to begin to nibble at her portion which was, for her, an incredible amount of resistance, whilst Kristoff had to resort to blackmail to get Thomas and Kari to eat, the former giving in when his father threatened to feed him only burdock for the rest of the journey, the latter only relenting with the warning that if she refused to eat she wouldn't be allowed to ask Eva to try to heal her voice for her.

Freddie was another matter though; he point-blank refused to eat what-so-ever and so, in the end, Elsa was forced to shut him in one of the empty bedrooms until he got so bored that he would willingly eat, much to her dismay; after about half an hour, a very hungry and very grumpy child emerged, mumbling sorries as he sat at the ice table and reluctantly worked his way through the meal. It had hurt Elsa to do so and had left Odd feeling sickened and nervous that he was slowly turning into his father by doing so, but in the end it had worked; after a few firm words from Kristoff that he wasn't turning into a psychotic madman like Arne, he let go of some of his guilt, but he couldn't help but pray that his son would just oblige next time.

The rest of the morning passed slowly and was, for once, uneventful, the group occupying themselves by carving the walls of the ice ship; Mia made fairly decent images of Lysse, Misty and Sven (which brought tears to her Father's eyes at the reminder of his lost friend), a little rough around the edges but that was to be expected of an eight year old; Kristoff and Odd worked together to make a picture of the entire family, the latter, as the better artist, drawing their outlines whilst the former added details to make it more realistic, such as shadows and finer strands of hair; finally Freddie and Thomas worked together to sketch Brandy Shot and High Flyer respectively whilst Kari drew Seier, and all of their efforts, though good attempts, were really impossible to comprehend. Elsa, meanwhile, went around improving the ship, making its shape more streamlined and changing the shape of the cabins to a more rounded shape and making them walls thicker with snow and ice to try to conserve heat.

By the time everyone had finished, it was the middle of the afternoon - about half past two, by Odd's estimate - and, once a very late lunch had been eaten, the sun was almost down and it was too dark to remain outside for much longer; after Elsa thawed the table and chairs the group headed into the newly re-designed ice cabins, with Mia having the bright idea to thaw a hole in the ice wall separating the two rooms - one for Elsa, Odd and Freddie and another for Kristoff, Anna, Mia and the twins - and replace it with a door, to allow for easier access during the night. The last few hours of the evening were spent just talking quietly and playing small games including 'rock paper scissors', 'noughts and crosses' using a grid made of ice and 'I went to the shops', though Kari went to bed as her peers began playing the latter game due to her inability to speak more than a few words at a time. Thomas and Freddie also retired about twenty minutes later, growing bored of the game, while Mia went over to the adults and tried to join in with their conversation; within five minutes, however, she too had given up and had settled down on the fur rug which served as the children's bed along with the twins, careful to sleep a little away from them, conscious of making them colder with her lower-than-normal body temperature.

Finally, at around eight o'clock - though the never ending blackness outside made it seem so much later - the remaining adults parted ways too, Elsa and Odd leaving to join Freddie in their cabin, leaving Kristoff and Anna in their own room with the sleeping children.

"I like this," Anna murmured as she slowly lay down on top of the deer rug, allowing her husband to pull her into his embrace, relishing in the warmth of his body, "I like the freedom. It's just so nice not to be worried anymore." _That's a lie; I am still nervous, but not so much. _"I just hope this all get sorted out soon; there's no doubt the Southern Isles have something to do with... Everything. So it's definitely important that we work out where Karleif and his mother's old base is located; we need all the help we can get if we're going to defeat Ayla. Fight fire with fire, and all that."

Kristoff stifled a yawn. "Right you are, Fiestypants," he said with a heavy voice, "and I also realised something the other day; back at the new year race, we didn't really kill Ayla. We can't have. But that's a topic for tomorrow. Right now I need some sleep."

"But Kristoff, don't you see-" The princess began, but her husband squeezed her gently as he said firmly, "Goodnight, Anna." With a little huff of frustration, she opened her mouth to speak, tried to find the words and then thought better of it; relaxing into the embrace, she closed her eyes and prepared for another uncomfortable rest, something which would leave her aching again tomorrow. Still, having Kristoff with her made it slightly more bearable; the steady thud of his heartbeat, accompanied by the soft breathing of her children only about a metre away, lulled her quickly into a difficult slumber.

* * *

**First off, make sure to check out my new oneshot "Seth's Lullaby" which I posted on my birthday (I was in a really good mood and couldn't help but write it). So, go on, go check it out (but review first!) Also, I posted a character profile of most of the OCs on my page if anyone wants to check it out.**

**Anyway, this chapter was more light-hearted, I thought we could do with a bit of a break from sad news and pain! **

**Hope you guys liked it, please ****review (I've got a full week of exams next week so I'll need all the help I can get if I'm going to get the next chapter up on time!)**

**-Luna**


	25. Chapter 25 - dedicated to Blackkngth

_SnowQueenElsaOfArendelle_: **First off, wow, you are one tall 12 year old xD I'm 5ft 1in and 16 years old... (yeah, there's a reason I'm wearing heels at prom...) But if it helps, you can just pretend Odd's 6ft if you want to fangirl over him! As for not reviewing so much, no worries, although it's nice that you'd like to review more. But seriously, don't get ill over the series... Being too attached can't be healthy, as you say!**

_Pabulover123:_ **Ahaa, you had a double-installement this week then? No worries about forgetting to read/review for the last chapter - I get double the reviews this week anyway! But I'll hold you to that unbreakable vow... (*Evil laugh*) Anyway, I'm glad you liked the chance to have a look at the southern isles again, it's always good to have a change. Also, as you mentioned in the next review, the fact that the family are still happy does show how strong their relationships are and how no matter what gets thrown at them they'll stay strong. And yes, once they get to Corona things will get easier for them, but it won't be the same because they will still have to sneak around, not to mention it will be hard to actually get into the castle as the more people that see them, the more chance they can be tracked down.**

_blackkngth:_** Wow, when you said you'd caught up I didn't expect there to be this many reviews! Yay! So, onto the reviews... _(Chapter 20)_: As you say, though it's nice for Elsa to be able to have another child, although it is horrid to think of what she went through - don't forget there's still the possibility that it's Odd's, I'm not telling yet though! As for the fact that women during the 19th century tended to have lots of children; it did occur to me when I began writing this story, but I figured there's enough ****pregnancy in this story as it is and I don't really want to overwhelm it completely. Although it is fairly likely Anna and Elsa may have gotten pregnant and then miscarried early on during the five/six year time gap between FPII and FPIII. (_Chapter 21_): I'm glad you liked Odd's portrayal and how he's there for Elsa; I won't lie, he will find it hard (let's be honest, I imagine most people would) but he's there for her too. As you say, she'll need the support. And well done when you mentioned about Elsa's glove removal "making the game interesting" when Arne catches up - you hit the nail on the head there! (_Chapter 22_) Well, I guess you could use the word nasty to describe Arne... perhaps with a couple of well selected swear words beforehand, anyway. That would better suit him; nasty makes him sound like a playground bully, at least I think so! As for poor little Freddie's state... well, he's fine for the minute and will be for a couple of days, but then he'll begin to rapidly deteriorate again. The infection is definitely still there, just held at bay for a while. (_Chapter 23_) Thanks for the birthday wish, I did have a great day so thanks! Next, I'm glad you liked the chance to take a peek into the Southern Isles' world again; as for who attacked them, it would have been a neighbouring country, but it isn't really significant who attacked in the end; the main purpose of the attack was for the King to realise that his country wasn't as strong as he thought. (_Chapter 24_) It's a relief to know that the lighthearted chapters are okay still, I was a little nervous but figured we needed some sort of happiness in the family's rather depressing lives. You mentioned Freddie's injury again; as for getting his arm treated, such an infection would be devastating for people back in the day and without Pabbie's help, Freddie may have died before they reached Corona. As it is, he'll still be incredibly sick and the wound will be infected still, but I won't say whether he'll make it out alive or not. Medicine back in the day isn't exactly as sophisticated as nowadays, but...**

_KLime (guest):_ **Ah, I felt really bubbly inside when you said that I was creative, thank you! :D first off, I'm glad you didn't mind the more laid back chapter and, as you say, it is nice to give them a bit of a break! As for having no episodes of seasickness, that didn't even occur to me but - luckily - the sea would have been quite calm anyway so it won't be too bad just yet. Also, you mention that the group has an amazing supply of clean water; this is my fault, but frankly I forgot to mention last chapter that they actually don't. They don't have any wood to start a fire with so can't melt ice, and, at least in my opinion, Elsa can't melt her ice, only thaw it; the exception to this is water that she froze rather than ice she made out of thin air. They have a fair amount of water given to them by the trolls, and luckily it's the middle of winter so they aren't exactly sweating all that much and losing water that way, but they'll have to make a pit-stop on an island somewhere before they do run out of water. (At least that way they'll be able to get some fresh food, too!) As for Freddie avoiding a tantrum, yeah, that is pretty amazing actually! xD Finally, you mention the small size of the ship and how crying would be "inescapable" and would also attract unwanted attention; luckily, there will be about eight or nine months (depending on whose baby it is) before the baby is born, although any whining from any of the children would be just as annoying. Like you say, though, Elsa will be getting less and less mobile over the months, so fingers crossed she _won't_ have to face Ayla while pregnant again!**

_aggsun (guest):_ **Don't worry, the animals are still there, they've just been inside for the time being. Only Sven's not there, he's back with Arne still. And your comment about Elsa needing to have married the God of Happiness made me laugh - it's quite true though, she needs all the happiness she can get!**

_Kathy22334 (guest): _**Ahh, you don't have to give me a proper present (not to mention you can't either, so that makes your decision easier!) but reviews really make me happy, no matter how short, so that's a superb present! And i'm glad you liked the chapter, no worries about being in a rush, the review made me smile all the same! :D**

_PeruvianInca:_ **Thanks, I hope this chapter is good too!**

_OmegaMarker:_ **Wow, you basically summed up the opposite of the entire series when you said "a light-hearted, no-hate, no-evil chapter, don't have to be worrying about who's getting hurt next". Haha, it's true though, we haven't had a genuinely happy chapter without some form of danger in a while... And I liked your point about Hans having a love for power, it might be more of an obsession but I guess 'love' works too! And as for where Olaf is, he's on a worldwide tour and he was around during the 5 years between FPII and FPIII but then he disappeared right before this started again. So, in other words, I forget about him :( I planned to have him help with the escape from "Arne's lair" but then I forgot so... yeah. I might try and throw him in later on in the series though, nearer to the end, maybe he ****could be secretly trying to destroy Ayla himself? Yeah, I don't know.**

_Spartandestroyr:_ **I'm glad you liked the calmer chapter, Lord knows the family needed the break! And yes, I guess you're right, Hans' relationship with Ayla is mainly respect (but hey, at least he doesn't hate her or that would be an even worse relationship... come to think of it maybe it would be good if he hated her, then he might kill her and save everyone the pain ;) but then I'd have to end the series, so maybe not in hindsight).**

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Elsa frowned as she looked at herself in the shiny surface of the ice wall, trying to decide whether or not she could see a small bump yet; the reasonable half of her brain was saying no, for at only about one week pregnant - assuming it wasn't Odd's, which she had decided must be the case because fate seemed to hate her - the _thing_ wouldn't even be the size of a poppy seed, but the paranoid other half of her mind was insistent that there was a curve there, no matter how tiny, and the thought made her feel sick. The sensation wasn't helped by the slight lolling of the vessel as it travelled through the sea that afternoon, now the group's fourth day at sea after escaping from Arendelle three days ago, the rainy weather making the waves slightly choppy.

Elsa groaned as she stumbled slightly on the icy floor and struggled for a second to regain her balance; once she managed to stand straight again she adjusted the tightness of her ice-dress to make it slightly more flowing around the waist, trying to hide the traitorous bump which wasn't even there, before slowly making her way back into Anna and Kristoff's room where the rest of her family were all sat still. Wiping away the small tear threatening to spill from her right eye, she plastered on as convincing a smile as she could manage before re-entering her sister's room.

All of the occupants looked up at her as she walked in and Elsa glanced about nervously as she sat down next to Odd on one of the hammocks Mia had made the day before; fashioned from fairly thick, but still slightly pliable, sheets of ice, the crafts remained frozen by decreasing the temperature of the rooms. All of the occupants were happy with the compromise; they didn't mind being slightly colder if it meant that their sleeping arrangements were a little more comfortable because, after two nights of sleeping on the solid floor, they had all begun to ache with every little movement.

"Finally!" Anna cried as she stood up quickly and ran from the room, literally sliding through the door into the adjoining cabin. Elsa frowned in confusion and looked to her husband for an answer.

"Anna's desperate for a pee," Odd said with a chuckle, "and you were taking a long time. She's been waiting for ages."

"Why could she not just relieve herself in her own bathroom?" Elsa asked in puzzlement, for both quarters had their own adjoining restroom; they were nothing fancy - just a seat with a hole above a pipe in the floor which emptied outside of the ship - but it was better than a chamber pot.

"Thomas and Kari locked themselves in there because they were annoyed at the food options and wouldn't come out. And then Mia fell asleep just after you left, so she couldn't thaw it either - she and Freddie were feeling a bit sea sick, so they wanted to just sleep through it." Odd said with a chuckle, "Although I can't really blame those twins for being grumpy at the food we have; it's really quite disgusting."

Elsa smiled slightly, forgetting her sadness for just a moment before it washed over her again soon after. "I guess it isn't the most appetising, is it..." She said with a ghost of a smile remaining, "But no matter; once we find an island we'll find ourselves some nicer food."

"In winter?" Odd said with a chuckle, "You'll be lucky. But I'm sure we can rustle up some more meat and maybe we'll be able to find a little bit of watercress. Come to think of it, cattail shoots don't taste all that bad either; might be able to find some of them. If fate's good enough to give us an island in the first place."

"Well, in that case I think we'll be stuck with the burdock; fate seems to hate us, or me at least right now." She let out a sigh of irritation, and Odd squeezed her hand gently while Kristoff cleared his throat to attract their attention.

"Sorry," he apologised, "but I think you're looking at this the wrong way, Elsa - we got away from Arne, is that not good? Freddie's not gotten sick yet, either. Not to mention we're... well, almost all of us are here still." Kristoff's face fell into a frown, but he finished in an almost-unwavering voice, "I'd say that's okay luck, at any rate."

There was a moment of silence as Elsa considered this and then she noticed how her brother-in-law was looking longingly out of the ice window at the rolling waves again. "Kristoff- I'm sorry about Sven." She said slowly, wanting to reassure him but not sure how to. He nodded at her words, but kept his desperate expression. Anna returned then, looking extremely relieved as she walked in with a blissful expression on her face.

"Much better," she sighed, but then noticed the slightly awkward expression in the room. She looked around and noticed how her husband looked so depressed and, under her breath, she whispered to Elsa, "What happened?"

"Sven," Elsa breathed back, hoping that Kristoff couldn't overhear her; she'd hate to make things worse. Anna's eyes softened and she frowned slightly, nodding in thanks before walking over to her husband slowly, not slipping once, and she sat down next to him quietly. She placed her hand tentatively around Kristoff and snuggled closer to his body, not knowing what she could do to reassure him. A few moments later there came a scratching sound at the icy door of the room and Elsa thawed a hole in it so that Seier could enter too; he stumbled as a particularly large wave rocked the boat making everyone struggle to stay upright, his weakened ankle making things even harder for him, but Anna grabbed him quickly by his collar and heaved him up onto her lap with difficulty. He thanked her with a rather wet and unpleasant lick right across her face making her spit in disgust and he wagged his damp tail happily, before crawling froward and then flopping down onto his mother's lap, snaking his head under Kristoff's hand and making a quiet grunt as if to reassure him. In response, the man gently began to stroke his head but the actions were unenthusiastic and feeble at best.

Elsa sighed a little as she watched the pair, and looked to Odd for reassurance that everything would work out okay. In response, he smiled at her warmly and placed his hand in hers, before she moved slightly to rest them on top of her thigh, touching her stomach very slightly, an unconscious action which she would have never been able to find the courage do on purpose. Still, it made Odd smile; he was dreading the birth in case it turned out to be another man's child - although he couldn't help but wonder whether all of this stress could make her lose it anyway - but he knew as well that, blood or not, it would still be _his_ son or daughter and that was a nice thought. If luck turned that way, he would grow to love it just as much as Freddie once he got over the initial aversion to the baby which, though the thought sickened him, he knew he would undoubtedly feel - the child would not only be another man's, something which would remind him of his inability to protect his wife and would, admittedly, cause him a little disgust (aimed at the rapists rather than Elsa), but would also have been conceived as a result of his own Father's scheme and would forever serve as a reminder of Odd's relation to him.

"Odd?" Elsa's timid voice whispered in his ear and, though she hid it well, a small amount of fear still shone in her eyes, "Do you think we'll all get out of this okay?"

"Huh?"

"Even with this whole threat surrounding Arne and Ayla as well as the Royal Advisor... do you think we'll all make it out unscathed? We've already lost Sven - I can't help but wonder if it's a sign of sorts?"

Odd shrugged slightly. "I won't lie- I have no idea. No doubt what's happened will effect us for the rest of our lives but... well, I reckon we'll pull through. This is one of the toughest families I know, at any rate... although I don't know many families so that's not all that much of a reassurance... I guess I'm not really much of a 'people person' after growing up a loner, am I?"

Elsa giggled very slightly. "Not really," she agreed and smiled knowingly, "although you say that, but I spent thirteen years locked in my bedroom and yet I still manage."

"Eh." Odd grunted dismissively, grinning a little, "You had _lessons_ in people skills, Elsa - I reckon you've got a little bit on me, Posh Girl."

"I'll have you know you're a _Posh Boy_ yourself now that you're a Prince," she retorted with a grin, feeling a little uplifted by the conversation, "so you have no place to go calling me the same!"

"Yeah, but you were a posh 'un born not made, so you've got a leg up there." Odd teased back and Elsa, unable to think of a reply to that, held up her hands in submission; across the room, Anna and Kristoff began whispering in slightly louder voices but this went ignored.

There was a moment's silence as the two just sat there, the rocking of the ship having a soothing affect on both; Odd's hand trailed softly around Elsa as they swayed on the hammock and she shifted slightly into the embrace, sighing at the gentle touch and the reassurance which came with it, but then she let out a yelp and jerked quickly away. Anna looked around momentarily but then returned her attention to her own husband, talking in hushed tones, while Odd stuttered countless apologies. Elsa waved them off, trying to assure him that it was fine, that it was her fault but he only looked at her with shining eyes.

"I'm so sorry!" He muttered again, but then he frowned, "I touched the burn, didn't I?"

"Mm hmm," Elsa agreed softly, turning away at the mention; not only was it a sign of her weakness but it was the worst design for her self-esteem of the two. The one on her right shoulder... well, it was written in runes and could easily be mistaken for something beautiful for those who didn't know the meaning of the symbols - "witch". It was designed to remind her that no matter how beautiful her magic _seemed_, it was evil, even if everyone denied such a statement. But, no matter how hurtful it was, it didn't even come close to the pain that the newer burn caused her. Branded onto her skin just after the guards had "had their fun", an S and an I whose intent was so very obvious; to show that she had been claimed. She was the Southern Isles' possession now, at least metaphorically if not literally, but it made her feel awful. Her thoughts momentarily wandered down to the small bundle of cells growing inside her, and she instantly felt a flickering rage; at those awful guards and at the developing child itself. In that moment, the urge to take the herb that Pabbie had given her was almost overwhelming.

"Won't you please at least let me put some of the sap we've got left on the burns, Elsa?" Odd begged, his tone desperate, "They'll only scar worse without any treatment!"

Elsa looked like she wanted to refuse, opening her mouth to say no as she always did when he offered to help but, when she saw the pleading look he gave her, she whimpered slightly with her previously happy demeanour lost as she gave a quiet murmur of reluctant assent; Odd grinned in relief as she finally gave in, having refused to allow him to treat the burns since she relented when they were sleeping in the cave just before reaching the trolls' valley. He couldn't help but fear that they would get infected soon if they were left for too long.

"Can you thaw away some of your dress, please?" He asked quietly, a small coconut shell of sap in his lap which he always kept on his person. He was careful to speak with a soft tone to reassure her that it was okay; though the burns obviously held so much more meaning to her, no one would really think badly of her for them. They hadn't been her fault, nor had the pregnancy. They were just another reminder of what the family had all been through; now that he thought of it, though, perhaps they were also a sign of the fact that they had escaped. Even with everything Arne and his men had done they had still gotten away‒ the scars weren't evidence of the group's being claimed by the Southern Isles; they were a symbol that they had beaten their attackers. They had gotten away.

"Must I?" Elsa asked in a quiet voice, a small attempt to try and get out of Odd seeing the scandalous wounds, but he assured that they would only get worse; with a sigh, she thawed a slight hole in the back of her ice dress and also the right shoulder of her dress, actually enjoying the decreased pressure on the sensitive burns. She winced as Odd gently applied the soothing medicine onto her shoulder wound and she clenched her fists as the temperature in the room dropped by a single degree; she stiffened slightly as he guided a finger down her side, following the curves of her body in a tender fashion which she almost managed to settle into before he came to rest on the second brand. He traced the letters of the burn as he carefully painted the sap onto the wound, this one scabbed and seeping slightly, and Elsa groaned slightly as she noticed the way he was following the lines of the burn; clearly he had recognised what the letters were and the irrational side of her expected him to look at her in disgust - a hatred he should already hold for her for carrying a possible-bastard child - but, of course, he didn't even flinch. His only reaction was one of sympathy for her.

"There," he whispered to her as he drew back, wiping the remainder of the sap on his neck wound which, though partially healed, was still deep and far from ignorable. He added a little more as an afterthought, and then put the tiny she'll of sap away in a pocket again. "All done; give it a couple of minutes to harden and then you can remake your dress."

Elsa groaned slightly. "Oh, but I hate to leave my shoulder bare now- the burn is so obvious and-"

"No, Anna! You don't understand at all!" Kristoff's heated words cut through Elsa's and the couple turned quickly to watch what was happening. The door to the bathroom also opened at the raised voice, Thomas and Kari appearing to find out what was going on; to say they were surprised to hear their ever-quiet father shouting was an understatement. Mia and Freddie both jerked awake at the yell too, leaving the whole family watching the redheaded princess and her prince.

"I only meant-" Anna began as she sharply drew her hand back from Kristoff's as he shouted, but he wouldn't allow her to finish the sentence.

"You meant well, but that doesn't change anything! You don't understand, Anna; you've got your whole family here with you, and your pets too!" He shoved Seier off of his lap roughly just as a wave crashed against the side of the ship, making it unbalanced for a second. The wolf landed with a thud on the ice and slipped a little way, only stopping when he dug in his claws, and he trotted timidly over to Mia and sat at her feet whining until she raised him up with a pile of snow. He cuddled into her, not understanding what he'd done wrong to Kristoff.

"Kristoff, we'll get-" Anna tried again, but as before her husband spoke up first. Tears slowly formed in the poor princess' eyes, and she had to look away from her husband as he continued to rage. He'd been holding in his sorrows for so long, he couldn't contain it any more.

"We'll get him back!? When, Anna? When we get to Corona? When we reclaim Arendelle? More like when his ashes get mailed to us in a box with a note warning us that they are coming to kill us!" Kristoff's face was red with rage and he was clenching his fists so tightly he'd drawn a fair amount of blood. "Well, I'll tell you what; I've lost a brother, I've lost my best friend of thirteen years - _thirteen years!_ \- and when all you can offer me is a pathetic promise that we'll get him back... There's not even a glimmer of hope in those words- they're the same thing everyone says but does it ever happen?! _No, of course not!_" Kristoff let out a hell of frustration and stood up quickly, before storming out of the room onto the deck outside.

"Kristoff!" Anna yelled, her voice cracked and she was choked up with tears; she made to run after him but Elsa made a wall of ice in her way. Still feeling slightly vulnerable from having her burns so exposed she gestured for her sister to come over then whispered shakily to Odd to go and speak to Kristoff, hoping he'd have more luck.

Anna stumbled over to Elsa slowly, collapsing into her sister's embrace as she sobbed. "I was just trying to help," she choked out between wails, clinging desperately onto her sister for support. Her delicate fingers gripped the icy material of the dress tightly, her nails coming dangerously close for comfort to the runes on Elsa's shoulder who, with great difficulty, tried to keep the uncertainties at bay for her sibling's sake.

"Hush, hush Anna; he's just stressed," she reassured gently, feeling weak from trying not to panic at her sister's fingers beginning to creep ever closer to the brand mark. She tried to shift away from her a little without Anna noticing, but she only moved as her sister did. With a sigh, Elsa settled for softly tickling her sibling's back, careful to avoid the general area of her own burn, and the princess slowly began to calm down.

"Mama?" Came a quiet little voice from nearby and Mia sat watching with wide eyes as she tried to comprehend what had just happened, "Mama, I'm confused; what's going on?"

"Nothing, Sweetie- Papa just misses Sven is all." Anna explained through her own tears, "We all miss Sven, but Papa the most and he just... Really couldn't deal with it tonight."

Mia looked distressed at this answer but nodded slowly and tentatively opened out her arms, desperate for reassurance but scared at the same time that she would be seen as weak. Anna was more than happy to oblige her wishes and rushed over to her hammock, pulling her into a great embrace as Elsa did the same with Freddie, and even Thomas - accompanied by an even more reluctant Kari - came over to join in, the events of recent taking their toll on everyone.

The ice door burst open just then and Odd stood there looking panicked. He looked directly at Elsa, then at Mia and shouted loudly enough to ensure that none could miss his words, "We've got one hell of a problem out here!"

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**First, before anyone has a go at me for Odd being such a horrid person for being disgusted at the ****possibility of Elsa's baby being someone else's, remember that for a start, this is a different time period to our own - a woman having another man's child would have been scandalous and back in the day men actually claimed compensation for the woman's loss of value (but Odd's not that sort of man)! And it would have been a blow on a man's pride, too, if he didn't father the child. On top of that, the child would be a constant reminder to Odd that he hadn't been able to stop Elsa from being raped (remember he and Kristoff were held down and forced to watch?) And then, if all that wasn't enough, the rapists were his father's own men (not Arne himself though because if Freddie's sibling was his grandfather's son... just no) and so it's all even more personal to Odd who already worries about turning into a monster like Arne. So, all things considered, the fact that Odd is willing to try to overlook all of that for Elsa's wellbeing... well, I'd say that makes him a better man than before.**

**Next, this chapter was going to be longer but I ran out of time in the end, sorry- thought I'd leave you with a cliffhanger though!**

**I'd best check this thing and then get to bed, I hope you liked it and please review, also I've been reading a lot of fanfiction pet peeves recently and it would be great to know your's so I can try to avoid doing it in future!**

**Good luck for any fellow exam takers this week!**

**-Luna**


	26. Chapter 26 - dedicated to Kathy22334

_**"Nothing, Sweetie- Papa just misses Sven is all." Anna explained through her own tears, "We all miss Sven, but Papa the most and he just... Really couldn't deal with it tonight."**_

_**Mia looked distressed at this answer but nodded slowly and tentatively opened out her arms, desperate for reassurance but scared at the same time that she would be seen as weak. Anna was more than happy to oblige her wishes and rushed over to her hammock, pulling her into a great embrace as Elsa did the same with Freddie, and even Thomas - accompanied by an even more reluctant Kari - came over to join in, the events of recent taking their toll on everyone.**_

_**The ice door burst open just then and Odd stood there looking panicked. He looked directly at Elsa, then at Mia and shouted loudly enough to ensure that none could miss his words, "We've got one hell of a problem out here!"**_

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_asome (guest): _**Don't worry about being tired last week, it's fine! And wow, I guess you like Olaf- shame he's not really in this story, but he will be at the end! And no, I'm afraid I haven't played Epic Mickey, I've never even heard of it! xD**

_Kathy22334 (Guest): _**Ah, I hope your exams went well this week! And yes, Kristoff is struggling with the loss of Sven a lot, I guess the only thing is that Sven could possibly be alive...**

_Pabulover123: _**I'm glad you seemed to like the chapter, I figured that they couldn't play happy families forever... And I'm glad that you don't mind Odd's reaction, I was definitely afraid some people would see him as heartless, but, like you say, he failed to adhere to his wedding vows and of course, they were much more serious back in the day.**

_SnowQueenElsaofArendelle101: _**Ah, I'm sorry for writing such a depressing chapter! It had to be done! As for the 'big deal'... well, you'll find out. It's quite a big deal, at least in the circumstances.**

_WildVirus (guest): _**He might have, he might not have... you'll have to wait and see!**

_KLime (guest):_ **Yep, I didn't even realise seasickness until you pointed it out so thanks! And wow, that's a good point about how Elsa will be later on- she'd probably be curled up in a ball, mumbling to herself, absolutely useless... Okay, no, I'd hope she will gain some acceptance and get a bit calmer but she'll still be self-conscious for certain. And haha, I feel for you and your sister, in my family we only have one bathroom between four and so that can be interesting as well... And I'm glad you haven't got any pet peeves, that makes my life easier! Thanks for the review!**

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"What?" Elsa cried, standing up as fast as her legs could possibly move, "What sort of problem?"

Anna let out a little gasp. "Kristoff hasn't done something rash, has he?" She all but shouted, "I swear I was only trying to reassure him-"

"No, no, no, Kristoff's fine," Odd reassured in a rushed voice, "but there's another ship a little way off; it's steering towards us as we speak!"

"No..." Elsa whispered, "We need to keep our location as secret as possible; what if this ship reports back to either the Advisor, or Arne, or even Ayla and Hans! The only reason we're free is because no one knows where we are!"

Mia whimpered at her aunt's words, clinging tightly onto her mother's arm; Anna's eyes widened as she said quietly, "Is there any chance they haven't recognised us?" to which Elsa let out a short, sarcastic laugh as her heart filled with a raw bitterness.

"We're in a ship made of _ice_, Anna; of course they'll recognise us!" She said with a glower, and Anna looked insulted as she folded her arms and raised her eyebrows.

"You don't know that!" She snapped back and she took a step towards her sister as if ready to have a go at her the second she opened her mouth to say something in response. Elsa, in turn, looked down at Anna in frustration, muttering, "Stupid girl..."

Anna, of course, overhead and stood up taller as she shook Mia off of her arm, asking in a cold, threatening voice, "What did you just call me?" Elsa was silent for a second before she opened her mouth to answer; Freddie watched in amazement as his mother and aunt argued—an incredibly strange event considering that they had been comforting each other just minutes before—while Mia watched on with increasing fear that her mother was going to get angry and punish her for Lord knows what reason.

She knew it was an irrational thought and that it wouldn't happen but the memories of her time spent with Hans and Ayla, mostly forgotten by now, still managed to have an affect on how she lived her life. She could still remember the nightmares, two pairs of menacing eyes, coloured a piercing blue and green. Vaguely she could even recall some of the moments she'd spent in the kingdom; her strongest memory was right after she'd escaped from the castle with the Queen's help as she hid under a bush from Hans, only to be dragged out roughly by a vicious hound, delivering her straight back into his hands. Even remembering it made her shudder; the fear she'd felt then was still real in her mind's eye.

She would scoff at her insecurities later but for now, the sight of her mother angry was making her a little unsure but, with as much strength as she could muster, she squeaked, "Mama- don't fight!" She fought a whimper as her mother and aunt looked at her directly, though their own blue eyes softened in shock and pride for her; both Anna and Elsa recognised how hard speaking out was for her. Mia shrunk down a little, but Odd gave her a confident grin.

"Exactly; be quiet, you two." He said in a hurry, his voice serious but a small hint of amusement mixed in with the concern for the situation. Elsa glared at him in frustration and Anna poured at being told what to do, especially by Odd who was, for the most part, not much of a leader but he ignored this. "Right now, we need to decide what to do about this ship - Kristoff reckons it's nearly close enough to fire at us if it wants."

"Oh, gosh- what are we doing wasting time in here? No, no- don't answer that!" Elsa, now frantic as opposed to bitter, glanced around the room desperately as if there would be something that could help them but, of course, there was nothing but ice and a few of the trolls' blankets. "We need something to scare them away with!" Running, she skidded outside onto the icy deck and watched the other ship creeping towards them, gasping as their own vessel rocked from the waves.

"Elsa!" Anna called as she ran after her, with Odd close behind. Kristoff looked over to her as she came outside and an apologetic look came across his face for a second before he looked away again, focusing on the boat. "Elsa, we can't just try to chase them away!"

A gust of salty wind blew through the small group of people, chilling them all to the bone - with the exception of the obvious - and making them all feel a little more frustrated. Kristoff came over to his family, avoiding Anna's gaze with great effort, as he commented, "If they get away, they'll spread rumours of a massive great ice ship."

Elsa shook her head at his comment. "And how do you propose that we stop them from getting away? Because I won't be killing anyone, I'll say that now." Her voice was firm and Kristoff, who hadn't really thought about _how_ to stop them from going, muttered "Point taken," and backed off a little, thinking.

Elsa studied the ship carefully, frowning as she tried to make out any distinctive features through the dense evening greyness and the spray of the sea; the rain had, thankfully, at least let up a little. Still, if everyone got too cold now it would be a rather uncomfortable night without a fire, not to mention they were running low on food and water as well.

"You could always try to make a strong wind to push them away, Elsa?" Anna's voice came from behind but she was quiet and seemed a little distracted; even out of the corner of her eye, Elsa could see her sister glancing desperately at her husband and she sighed.

"Thanks, Anna," she said gently, "but why don't you take Kristoff inside? I'm sure the children are scared."

Anna was silent for a moment until she recognised what Elsa was trying to do and nodded gratefully, slipping over to a reluctant Kristoff and coercing him into going back into the cabin, following soon after herself.

"I can't tell whose kingdom's ship that is..." Elsa said to Odd as she returned her gaze to the mysterious vessel which was headed towards them. "Can you see anything strange?"

Odd was silent for a minute as he focused, shaking his head at first before something caught his eye. "Wait, wait- what's that? On the side of the ship, it looks like it's covered in massive slash marks... No, paint- purple paint. On a... Brown background? Or maybe it's red, but looks brown in the light... Does that help any?"

Elsa shook her head as she wracked her brains. "I can't place it- I expect it's some sort of threatening design, like Britain has; their ships are black and yellow to look like a bee or a wasp. It's clever really, but-"

A massive boom rung out through the air just then and Odd yelled as Elsa gave an involuntary shriek. She felt herself be yanked down to the floor by her husband who was now grasping her ice dress tightly and she landed with a thud, making her groan slightly as she sat up a little. A shell whistled over her head, smashing through the deck and then it flew out through the opposite wall, thankfully not making a hole underwater, sending shards of ice everywhere. Tiny projectiles flew through the air, slicing cleanly through the skin of Elsa's cheek before Odd threw his body over her to protect her from the onslaught of frozen missiles; she used the seconds to patch up the holes in the side of the ship before a large wave rocked the boat and the pair were sent sliding across the deck, luckily stopped by the low walls before they plummetted into the water.

"Ugh..." Odd groaned as he pushed himself up, helping Elsa to stand, "They're definitely not friendly..."

Elsa nodded in agreement, frowning. "Should I try to make a wind to blow them away?" She asked, yelping as a second shell was fired with a tremendous rumble of thunder, shooting through the wall of the first cabin, zooming into the second before blasting out of the wall. A shrill scream came from inside, accompanied by yells of terror, and Elsa's heart caught in her throat as she looked over to where the rest of her family was hidden; no screams of pain sounded after so, despite her desperation to check on her family, she focused back towards the other ship, her concerns quickly turning into rage.

Pushing her palms forwards, Elsa readied herself to create a gust of wind before the other ship could fire again but she faltered when she heard he slam of a door and Anna stood there, a triumphant look upon her terrified face, her actions quick from exhilaration. "Hold on, hold on!" She cried and stepped to the side to reveal Mia, whose eyes were wide and whose jaw was clenched but she stood as tall as she could, even if her shoulders were slightly slouched; usually she was perfectly poised and regal but nerves could make anyone behave differently.

A third canon blasted, a shell whistling dangerously close to Odd's shoulder as he shoved his wife out of the way; once she had recovered, Elsa spun on her sister and glared slightly. "Anna, we don't have time-"

"No, there might be a better way to solve this!"

Odd noticed that Anna was looking at her daughter and then something clicked on his mind. "Of course- Mia's powers!"

Elsa was puzzled for a second, wondering how on earth Mia's powers were any different to her own, when she recalled that Mia did have an extra ability - mind control! "Are you saying you can make them all go away? Forget they even saw us, even?"

Mia slouched a little more as she answered in her timid voice, "I- I don't know." She spared a glance towards the other ship, watching with the same wide eyes for any more attacks. "It's quite far away and I don't know how strong I am over that sort of distance..." All the while, her eyes never left her target, ready to react at any possible movement from them.

Elsa's eyes sparkled with relief, but Odd continued to wear a frown; still, he didn't object and so, as Elsa nodded for her niece to go ahead, she scrunched up her face and held her hand palm-up, a small snowflake materialising there before Mia sent it flying across the sea. The wind buffeted it mercilessly and Mia had to fight to keep it travelling in the right direction.

Four ear splitting explosions sounded in succession, the first barely clipping the icy walls of the deck but the next two smashing straight through their targets, making the ice boat take on water rapidly, despite Elsa's best efforts to locate and repair the damage quickly. Odd ran down to make sure the animals were all okay-thankfully, they were all absolutely fine other than having wet feet, although whether this would develop into something worse Odd couldn't quite be sure of for now. Still, they were safer down here than up on the deck.

The final explosion was slightly more delayed than the others but it's aim had been true; it whistled directly towards the cabins at an angle which was obviously going to result in someone's injury. With a cry of terror, Elsa brought forth her own magic, using as large a gust of wind as she could muster to slow its speed and hopefully prevent it from hitting the ice ship too badLy. Images of Freddie, Thomas, Kari and Kristoff, bloodied and mangled, moaning in a haunting way entered her mind at the same time and the thought was overwhelming for her; letting out a full blown yell, she released an incredibly large flurry of snow and succeeded not only in slowing the projectile, but even managed to send it hurtling back in the direction it had come from, ten times faster and fifty times more deadly. It smashed a massive hole in the foreign ship's exterior, wood flying everywhere, but it wasn't a sinking hit. She would have felt guilty if she had been feeling normal, knew she would later, but right now only the horrific image of her family's mauled bodies was real.

Mia, meanwhile, let out a small squeal, not an excited sound but a duller one of accomplishment, as her snowflake finally connected with someone on the opposite ship; who, she couldn't be sure, but she immediately encouraged them to turn the boat away. The sailor was hesitant at first, resisting her magic, but it wasn't long until he began to give in to her will.

_Turn the boat away._

_Inform everyone that this is not an ice ship; just a blue boat._

The man, it would seem, had a rather strong willpower, making the incredible task of controlling him from this distance near impossible; a sweat broke out on Mia's forehead as she concentrated, her occupied mind only hearing the dull rumble of the cannons as they fired more shells. She felt herself be dragged to the side by her mother, but didn't really notice the action. She was too focused.

"Mia..." Odd's voice, full of uncertainty, shouted out to her above the crashing of the waves against the sides of the boat, "Mia, can you do it? It doesn't matter if not."

Mia nodded with a groan of effort, desperate to prove that she was strong enough to finish this task.

_Turn the boat._

_Turn the boat._

_**Turn. The. Boat!**_

Mia grunted again at the exertion, her head pounding with the onslaught of a headache, feeling queasy from the boat's rough lolling about in the waves. With one final instruction to the man, she poured all of her energy into forcing him to turn the boat; as she eventually released his mind, she saw that she had been successful- a little too successful.

The ship spun quickly as the man heeded her orders and then, over the moans of the sea, came the screams of men a little way off as their boat was hit by a particularly large wave which attacked as the vessel spun, catching it at an especially effective angle and swallowing it whole. The fight was valiant, the ship struggling to stay afloat, but to no avail as both craft and crew were taken prey by the unforgiving seas.

The group watched the scene, stunned, and Kristoff came cautiously outside as well at the sudden lack of cannon-fire; one look at his family's faces was enough to show what had happened.

"I-I-I..." Mia stuttered helplessly, her whole body shaking and Anna had to catch her as she fell. Hugging her tightly, she softly crooned under her breath, trying to reassure the girl. Kristoff came over too and pulled both his wife and daughter into an embrace, previous frustrations forgotten in the moment. Odd took Elsa's hand and squeezed it gently and she stood up on her toes and gently passed a kiss on his cheek, so relieved they had made it out of that with barely more than scratches from ice.

The group stayed in that position for a while, everyone except for Mia too relieved now to grieve for the drowned-no, drowning-sailors of the boat which had been trying to kill them first, until Kari came outside, wondering what was going on, and said, "Stop be...Sap...py." It was perhaps a little hard to understand with shortened words and her voice rough and strained, but she got her point across.

Kristoff nodded at her youngest daughter's words. "Kari's right- we need to stop being so emotional, and being stuck on this bloody boat-" Kristoff ignored the glare from his sister-in-law and wife at this remark, "Isn't helping. We need to find an island, spend just a day or two on dry land. We'll tear eachother to pieces if we don't."

Odd agreed wholeheartedly, mentioning that they needed more food and water, but Elsa was concerned. "What about Freddie? He's going to get sick again soon and if we don't get to Corona soon..."

Anna looked at her sister sympathetically, but it was Ood who spoke up first. "Elsa, I'm worried too but... Well, he'll die much sooner without food and water. It's gotta be a priority."

Elsa looked distraught but, with a loud sigh she muttered "fine" and stared out to sea for land. The sooner they found an island, the sooner they could get going again and the greater the chance of her only child's survival.

* * *

**First off, if anyone has a Deviantart account and has a few points spare, I could really use them on my account (Aeluna) as I'm trying to save up to get someone to do ****commissions of the frozen powers cast for me! So all help would be great!**

**Second, for any MLP fans out there (don't hate on me if you're not, please?) you have got to make sure you've seen Lullaby for a Princess - I was tearing up, that's it was so amazing!**

**Finally, sorry that this is short and late, I normally finish chapters on Friday but today's been awful- exam this afternoon so revision all morning, then one of our mother goats sat on her newborn and killed it, and now she's (probably) going to die overnight. If that wasn't enough I've got to look after her surviving twin now and it seems the rule is 'You are my new mother, play with me until 1:30 in the morning or I'll bleat the house down'! Yep, he's still going... I'm sure I've got bruises from him jumping on me...) So it's not been a great day for writing. There was going to be more detail in this chapter and an extra Ayla and Hans section at the end, but I'll write and post that when I wake up (in 5 hours time or so...)**

**If there are any spelling mistakes by the way (there will be, I know) then please point them out and I'll fix that tomorrow!**

***Yawns* I guess I'll see you then,**

**Luna**


	27. 27 - dedicated to WildVirus (guest)

_**Elsa looked distraught but, with a loud sigh she muttered "fine" and stared out to sea for land. The sooner they found an island, the sooner they could get going again and the greater the chance of her only child's survival.**_

* * *

"Oh, shit!" Ayla cursed as she ran from her son's room, hurrying outside before disappearing, reappearing a second later in her own chamber. She stumbled a little as she landed—since the birth of Freddie she had become somewhat weaker, the motherly love she felt for him, no matter how small, making her magic harder to control—and looked over to the bed where Hans was lounging contentedly, a book in his hands. He grinned at her flustered appearance and threw his novel down on the covers, pushing himself up on the pillow slightly.

"Well, well, well." He began in a low voice, "What's got you acting so... hastily?"

Ayla looked taken-aback for a moment before she rolled her eyes slightly, leaving Hans feeling a little perplexed. "No, Princey— I'm not here to have sex with you. There's something a little more serious on our hands right now."

Hans frowned as his brow furrowed, feeling a little deflated as he sat up somewhat straighter, relaxing less into his pillow. He then spun around, swinging his legs over the side of the bed so that he was only sitting on the edge of the mattress. Patting the space next to him thrice to indicate to Ayla that she should join him, he jumped very slightly as she appeared next to him before he glowered at her, but his consort enjoyed her little moment of fun as she stuck her tongue out very slightly, but then remembered what she had originally come to discuss and became more level-headed once again.

"Okay, first off, d'you remember the spy I put in Arendelle at around New Year?" Ayla asked, before she expanded a little upon seeing Hans' lost expression. "I made an illusion of myself and let the Arendelle Royals 'kill me'. Almost scared Princess Anna's brat to death." She spoke the last few words with a little more enthusiasm, clearly relishing in the memory of causing that "hideous child" pain. Princess Mia was strong, to be sure—possibly even stronger than her aunt by now, though Ayla didn't know for certain—but the fact that she had been unable to control a toddler made her cringe. Any revenge on that humiliation was precious.

"Yes, yes, I recall—but what's the matter?"

"Well, Seth had another nightmare about his uncles. The weak thing wouldn't settle down on his own so I had to wait with him; Lord knows I haven't had any time recently, but I figured that I'd check on how things are in Arendelle, considering I had nothing else to do. Well, I guess I could have sung him a lullaby or something but... Oh well—he's quietness now anyway. But that's not what I came here to discuss; more important is what I found out."

There was a beat of silence as Ayla tried to figure out what would be the gentlest way to break the news to Hans, knowing that he'd be furious at Arne for his incompetence. Despite his flaws, he was evidently loyal—he had imprisoned his own son, daughter-in-law and grandson for the cause and had taken pleasure in doing so and, on top of that, he was a member of Ayla's mother's and brother's original band of followers—and so to lose him as an ally would be painful.

"The Arendelle Royals have... escaped from our control. They fled from Arendelle on a ship made of ice." She said tentatively, quick to use her magic to try and encourage Hans that it wasn't such an awful problem, that the issue could be redeemed. Not only did she not want him to attack Arne, but it would raise suspicions if he became suddenly bitter and began storming around the castle angrily. Still, despite the help, Hans still looked frustrated.

"Oh, for Christ's sake!" He growled, eyes glinting maliciously, "Those bloody royals are more trouble than their worth! Well, can't you do something—track them already!"

"Okay, okay!" Ayla snapped back, glaring daggers at his tone. Angry or not, she deserved more respect than he was giving; still, she obliged his wish reluctantly, feeling the energy flowing through her veins as she slowly worked out how to conduct the search. She quickly discovered the means to pull the feat off and an illusion of a map materialised in the air before her, a small, pulsating red dot marked out on the waters in between the Southern Isles and a small cluster of islands in the opposite direction. "There." She said bluntly while pointing to the spot and Hans glared as if he thought she was insulting his intelligence but, in the end, he didn't raise any complaints, instead settling for a nod.

"A ship left the docks earlier. One of the newly-painted ones." He said with a slightly more up-lifted voice, "Send a message to the captain; tell them to look out for an ice ship and if they find it, blow it to pieces. Tell them to make sure that they save the women and children; the animals and those two bitches' husbands can perish for all I care. Warn them that... we need answers from Queen Elsa and her family. Don't tell them how we know they weren't dead. Just warn them of that and mention that there will be consequences if they fail."

Ayla was about to object, originally wondering whether threatening them would destroy the peaceful view people currently had of herself and Hans, but she eventually decided there wasn't really an alternative; nodding, she sent the message, only to realise that she couldn't. There was nothing—no response at all. Her eyes widened and she gasped involuntarily.

"Hans... The ship's gone down. The captain's dead."

Hans growled in rage and he stood up immediately as his muscles tensed; Ayla made a knife for him and he took it roughly, grabbing it by the blade and cleaving the skin of his hand open before he threw it with all of his might. "Fuck!" He yelled, and then he collapsed back down on the bed, his green eyes red as flames blazed within them. "I'll bet they did this, and so soon after the battle as well; the people will be broken. But then perhaps that's not so bad—we can highlight how we must become the strongest empire possible if we ever want to survive. They'll lap that up."

Ayla nodded, accepting the plan. "Yes. And in the meantime, I'll keep an eye on the royals. Maybe we can even send Seth to try to locate them; I'm sure he'll survive on his own."

Hans nodded eagerly, perfectly willing for his son to actually have a use rather than being a painful thorn in his side. "Agreed."

* * *

**First, I'd just like to explain how love makes Ayla's magic weaker (this has been mentioned before)— Ayla's magic is dark magic, taken by force from a recently dead person who had magic in their blood but could not harness it, and therefore something as pure as love makes it harder to control (even if Ayla's love for Seth is hardly more than tolerance, really). Elsa's magic, on the other hand, is made stronger by love because it is not dark. Simple enough, really.**

**Also, as I was writing this I realised that perhaps when Ayla/Hans says "Oh, dear Lord" or something similar, perhaps they should say "Oh, dear myself". They do seem to think rather highly of themselves!**

**Well, I hope you like this little additional snippet - sorry it's not the morning but, as was the case yesterday, I've had a full day of goats. The one we thought would die survived the night, but she's needed constant attention all day... Yeah, nightmare.**

**See you on Friday!**

**Luna**


	28. Chapter 28 - dedicated to KLime (guest)

_**Ayla nodded, accepting the plan. "Yes. And in the meantime, I'll keep an eye on the royals. Maybe we can even send Seth to try to locate them; I'm sure he'll survive on his own."**_

_**Hans nodded eagerly, perfectly willing for his son to actually have a use rather than being a painful thorn in his side. "Agreed."**_

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_Pabulover123: _**Wow, now that you mention it Elsa did act pretty out of character last chapter- that being said, she'd had a pretty rough time of it already so I guess it doesn't matter too much. And an update, the baby goat's doing well and the Mum's just about pulling through still. Also, I'm glad the second part made more sense as its own chapter, as for whether Seth will rethink his view on Hans and Ayla... there's a good chance he will. **

_WildVirus (guest):_ **Thanks for the review!**

_asome (guest):_ **Yeah, I have deviantart- why don't you get it? And yes, it is lucky that they pulled through the attack!**

_KLime (guest): _**Oh, wow, I forgot that Elsa would have been exhausted- I guess in the moment the exhilaration would have made her feel strong still. And I'm glad the description of the sinking boat was good, especially since I was exhausted. And I'm glad there weren't too many mistakes in the chapter to make it unreadable! And onto the next review, oh dear, I keep getting their names mixed up - I'll go back and change that now! As for Hans turning on Ayla- perhaps he would have, but Ayla used her powers to calm him slightly so he wasn't quite so angry. Perhaps he will in the future, though-and then he'll face the wrath of Ayla!**

_OmegaMarker:_ **Thanks for all the reviews- don't worry, I completely understand how busy exams make everyone (mine finish on Monday, can't wait to finally get on holiday!) And you mention that the disappearance of the boat will trigger more to come to the seas-I hadn't thought of that, but it's a very fair point so thanks! And yep, the Southern Isles knows where they are, but the only chance for the group is that Ayla and Hans don't know exactly where. So, for example, if they were in Paris all Ayla would be able to tell would be the north of France. Still, that does narrow things down considerably! And as for Arendelle, at the minute the Royal Advisor is in charge, but you'll find out who the new King/Queen is soon!**

_Jealouswayward: _**I'm excited to hear you're planning another fanfic... for this fanfic... Haha, that always sounds weird but I'm thrilled all the same! Can't wait to see what you come up with. **

* * *

Mia was silent as she walked back into the cabin, her frantic heart pounding rapidly in her chest. She jumped as a wave crashed against the edge of the ship, mistaking it rather foolishly for the distant sound of another canon. The screaming of the wind outside made her thoughts frantic, adrenaline coursing through her body as her brain decided that it was stalking her. Slowly chasing her down. Preying on her...

"Sweetie, it wasn't your fault." Her mother's gentle voice, slightly faster than normal itself, interrupted the paranoid wandering of her mind as she jerked her head around at the unexpected sound, "You didn't tell them the captain to sink the ship; he just happened to do so by accident."

Mia remained silent for a few seconds as her body slowly recovered from the shock which, for the briefest of periods, had left her incapacitated. "It wasn't the captain, Mama, just a normal sailor." Mia informed, her voice timid and shaky, "I had to make him say he had news for the captain to get to the wheel. And it was my fault; he wasn't doing what I told him so I... I pushed harder on him and then he just... Snapped. I pushed him too hard; he reacted too suddenly-no, too jerkily-to be able to control how much he turned the wheel. I pushed him too hard, so I... I s-sunk the ship! I killed all those people. I-"

"Mia." Anna said firmly, but her own voice shook slightly also. "Now listen to me. This wasn't your fault. It was the sailor's fault because he was refusing to listen to you. If he had, the ship would have turned away without any fuss. It was the captain's fault for sailing near us and firing at us; if he'd steered the ship in a different direction we'd never have met. Perhaps it could be argued that it's... It's my fault, for encouraging you to use your powers. But it's not yours-all you are guilty of is doing what you were told to do."

"Is that a bad thing?"

Anna gave an exceptionally weak laugh and gently rubbed her eldest's head, soft strands of platinum-blonde hair getting slightly mussed up as she tried to reassure the poor child. "No, Mi, that's not bad." She crooned softly and, though she did not look convinced, Mia tentatively nodded once, looking away from her mother so as to try to convince her to say nothing more. Recognising her daughter's wishes, Anna obliged.

"P-Papa?" Freddie stuttered out as he saw his father come a little closer to him, leading the group back into the cabin with Elsa. The poor child was having trouble forming the words as his body shook slightly; his eyes were wide and shining, his forehead and palms sweaty, his skin pale. "Are they... Gone?"

Odd walked over to his son and nodded confidently, the least affected of the group at the sinking of an entire ship. He was more used to the concept of 'survival of the fittest', even more-so than Kristoff who'd had a similar upbringing to him, if a little more sheltered. "They're gone, mate." He said as he wrapped his arm around the boy's body to restore his confidence, but drew back quickly, his arm damp. "Freddie, you okay?"

Elsa hurried over quickly, looking terrified when she saw his sweaty state, but the young prince smiled as strongly as he could. "I'm 'kay, Mama," he assured as he wiped his damp forehead with his arm. Elsa tried to accept his words, nodding as she drew back a little upon hearing that he was not unwell, but the doubt and concerns were still there.

"So... is that it then?" Thomas asked as he sat a little further forwards on his hammock. He, similarly to Freddie, looked fearful and very slightly sweaty too, however he had not suffered from the attacks as badly as the latter. Upon hearing his question Anna nodded as she smiled weakly once more, the overwhelming joy countered by the sorrow over the fate of the other ship.

"Yep—we can keep going now." She said and Thomas visibly relaxed at his Mother's confirmation that the threat was gone. "Fingers crossed we'll be able to avoid any other encounters."

"Our main aim should be finding land, though, Anna." Kristoff reminded his wife as he sat down on a hammock, pulling her over to sit next to him; with a little of her cheek restored, Anna shifted onto sitting on his lap before positioning herself so that she was laying down on top of his legs. He looked at her with mock disdain, his concerns for Sven replaced by relief that the remainder of his family were still alive and—with the exception of emotional pain—unharmed as he asked, "What do you want?"

"Can you massage my head?" She asked in a reasonably lighthearted tone, "_Please_?" Kristoff let out a huff but consented, softly rubbing his wife's head as she sighed in contentment at being able to relax. "Thank you..." She muttered quietly as she close her eyes, happy. Mia watched her mother with a little indignation, very slightly annoyed that she was relaxing despite the fact that possibly one hundred—maybe more, even—people had drowned. On that note, she was bitter that her mother was even able to relax; she, for sure, could barely contain her guilt.

"Wait, wait!" Thomas interrupted, a thoughtful look upon his face. "Do you mean that we can get off of this boat?"

Kristoff nodded. "Yeah—well, when we find one."

Thomas looked overjoyed at this announcement and he hopped down from his hammock without a second to spare. "Cool! How long 'till we're there?"

"Did you not just hear me?" Kristoff asked with an unsure chuckle, not wanting to sadden his suddenly joyous son. "We haven't found an island yet, Tom. We can't just land on an island without finding one first."

Thomas rolled his eyes and laughed at his father. "Well, duh!" He said, an almost goofy grin plastered across his freckled face, "So it's kinda lucky really that there's one just over there!" He giggled, his face illuminated with excitement, while the adults all looked on unresponsive for a second. Then, tentatively, as if afraid that it would end up one big, cruel joke, Elsa stepped forwards towards her nephew.

"Where, Tom?" She asked, terrified that his 'island' was just a made up fantasy. "Where did you see the island?"

Thomas clambered back onto his hammock and crawled across, more for fun than for practicality, and then hopped off on the other side. He scampered over to the thin window of translucent ice, barely a few steps away from where he had been originally, and he gestured rapidly for his aunt to follow. Motioning for her to look outside, he pointed towards a small dark mass a little way off, slightly hidden by the lolling, crashing waves all around the boat but visible when they settled for the briefest of seconds. There was a short pause in which Elsa struggled to see what Thomas was indicating, and then her face broke into a massive grin. Turning around, she beamed at her family and said, "It would look like Tom was correct." She held her tongue for a second to let her words settle in, and then finished, "We can all get off of this damned boat!"

A short cheer rang out among the group, all weary and more than ready to get off of the boat; Elsa immediately began to turn the boat in the direction of the small island in the distance, doing her best to make a larger wind behind the sail to get them there faster. The ship rocked almost dangerously as the stronger gusts made the already-treacherous waves double, perhaps triple in size, smashing into the ice and wearing away at the walls. Still, everyone kept their mouths shut and did not utter any complaints, aside from the moans of a rather sea-sick Freddie and Mia and the whines from the uncomfortable animals downstairs.

"So, Auntie Elsa..." Thomas said with a grin as a particularly strong wave made the boat rock considerably; everyone else had the sense to hold on, but he simply stood still and slid over to where his aunt was now stood, crashing into her legs with a groan. He took a second to recover, picking himself up using her body for support, and then he smiled sweetly in a way which only suggested danger. "How long 'till we get off of this "damned" ship?" He laughed slightly as he saw his aunt's face fall in shock and he smiled up at her sweetly when she looked down at him with large eyes.

Bending down to his level, having to make a rope of ice from the floor to hold herself in place as the boat convulsed, Elsa smiled at her nephew but gently pushed his shoulder by way of reprimanding him. "Now, you—don't go repeating that, okay?" She felt her cheeks redden slightly as the young boy folded his arms and looked at her in a way which said, 'then why did you say it', and Elsa sighed. "Look, I was wrong to say that, but don't you go using it or your mother might just have me sent to jail for corrupting you!" At Thomas' blank look, Elsa almost scolded herself for forgetting that, intelligent as he was, he was still barely more than five years old. "For ruining you. For making you a naughty boy." She confirmed and the young Prince grinned.

"Mama couldn't send you to jail; you're the Queen! But you'd better be nice to me Auntie or I'll tell Mama that you're ruining me!"

Elsa laughed at her nephew's cheek and gently pulled him into a hug, before pushing him away and whispering, "Why don't you go see your Mama? She's probably getting jealous."

Thomas grinned and nodded, sliding over to Anna as the ship swayed again, this time caused by an extremely strong wave which made the windows of the ship dip into the frigid salt water; with an effort which made her vision cloud over and her ears begin to ring, Mia used her own powers to create a wind strong enough to right the boat in the water before she promptly vomited into a bowl of ice she had to fashion for herself quickly. With a moan, she apologised to Freddie in the hammock across from her, before she began to expel the contents of her stomach once again.

It was going to be a long half an hour.

* * *

**I am so sorry this chapter's so late, not to mention that it's a short one as well. I've literally been up the yard doing animals from 9:00am until about 10pm for the last few days, I've barely had a chance to write! I'll try to better this week, I hope you can forgive me :"(**

**Next, looking at the view count for each chapter, it's currently averaging at about 100. So, not too shabby, but not great either; if anyone can promote this fic in any way I'd be really grateful! Also please review**—**I'm losing reviews faster than I ever have before and it's sad. Even a 'nice' is appreciated!**

**I'm currently working on getting enough points on DeviantArt to get a commission of the whole FP cast, help is appreciated!**

**That's all until Friday!**

**Luna**


	29. Chapter 29 - dedicated to anniGirl93

**_Elsa laughed at her nephew's cheek and gently pulled him into a hug, before pushing him away and whispering, "Why don't you go see your Mama? She's probably getting jealous."_**

**_Thomas grinned and nodded, sliding over to Anna as the ship swayed again, this time caused by an extremely strong wave which made the windows of the ship dip into the frigid salt water; with an effort which made her vision cloud over and her ears begin to ring, Mia used her own powers to create a wind strong enough to right the boat in the water before she promptly vomited into a bowl of ice she had to fashion for herself quickly. With a moan, she apologised to Freddie in the hammock across from her, before she began to expel the contents of her stomach once again._**

**_It was going to be a long half an hour._**

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_OmegaMarker: _**Thanks so much for the review - I was starting to worry I wouldn't get any for the chapter! Anyway, as you say, Ayla's location ability, no matter how vague, will still make difficulties for everyone, they'll have to keep on the move and that definitely won't help Freddie's condition... I can't promise anything in his case. **

_asome (guest): _**Ah, fair enough about the mother. And I'm glad you like the chapter (and Seier!) As for the plague thing, I'm not sure really, I hadn't even heard about someone getting the disease nowadays until you mentioned it.**

_KLime (guest):_ **I'm glad it's not too hard to see how Thomas is similar to Anna, it's a relief to know that I managed to portray him right! And, as you say, a change in scenery is well deserved; Lord knows they need more than a few days of rest, but it's all they're getting and it's better than nothing!**

_anniGirl93:_ **Long time no see, it's nice to see you around again! :D Anyway, onto your review, Anna won't ask anyone if she's pregnant, she's just looking out for signs. Second, about Elsa being 'moody' during her last pregnancy... Ah, I have no idea any more! But then she's only one week pregnant at the minute so... yeah. And as for Seth, you're right, he definitely deserves to be able to realise he's being used. Whether he will, though-that's another matter! As for not reviewing, don't worry about it! I'm just glad to know that you're still here! And my DA username is Aeluna but I don't really have any real artwork posted, only a couple of adoptables (to earn points) and a few rubbishy sketches.**

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Waves lapped gently at the shoreline, the foam gathering on the damp edges of the sand as they came and retreated rhythmically. The gentle crashes of the tumbling water, accompanied by the melodic sounds from somewhere within the forest which bordered the beach, made for an all together heavenly experience; for the people currently curled up on the sand, surrounded from predators by walls of ice, it was even more luxurious than that. After nearly a month of being hunted down, the chance to just relax was more of a treasure than all of the contents of Arendelle castle.

The February morning sun was hardly warm—though by winter's standards it was rather pleasant—but the bright rays of light that it offered as it eventually peeked up over the horizon were bold and reassuring. As Anna's eyes slowly fluttered open, sleep drifting away from her as she began to wake, the golden glow, so much nicer than the shades of grey, brown and the slightly less harsh periwinkle which she'd grown accustomed to recently, reminded her instantly that they were safe; the danger was out there, perhaps, but for now they were still safe.

Such a lovely word, 'safe'—one which had become something more suitable for a children's fairytale than for real life; it almost seemed like the sort of thing a child would ask Father Christmas to get for them, something so ridiculous that they could never have it and yet, despite the impossibility of such a request, they would still hold out hope that it would be theirs. For Anna, and for everyone else in the group as well, it was the same; they still held out that foolish hope that they would be safe, even if the whole world seemed against them.

Anna lay still for a few seconds, trying to absorb as much of the weak heat from the sun as she could, relishing in the slightly warm feeling of the sand below her, curling her fingers around the grains and gripping them in pleasure. Before long, however, she noticed that something seemed off and sat up with difficulty, the fresh February air making her shiver, and she glanced around before noticing that both her husband andbrother-in-law were missing. She immediately feared the worst—a perfectly rational worry considering everything that was going on at the minute—but quickly realised that if the men had been taken, she wouldn't have been sat here herself; she'd have been taken too.

From behind, a soft nicker sounded and Anna looked around slowly, her eyes landing upon the animals who were gathered at the back of the ice enclosure; High Flyer remained asleep whilst the others—Lysse, Brandy Shot, Misty and Seier—watched her with sharp eyes, looking glad that she had awoken. Brandy Shot nickered again, tossing his head very slightly as Lysse gave a short bleat and Seier bounded over, leaping upon his mother and knocking her down. Anna gave a quiet laugh as she pushed him off, avoiding his eager kisses, and she tickled his chin as she whispered, "Shhh, down". Seier whined slightly as he listened before he began to wag his tail madly, bounding over his sleeping family and scratching at the ice wall.

"Okay, okay, boy—just be quiet!" Anna murmured as she rose cautiously, careful to not wake Elsa or the children who remained asleep. Tiptoeing over to the opposite wall where a simple door of ice could be found, she flipped the lock, pushed on it gently and it eased open before she stepped outside, relishing in the feel of the damp sand beneath her bare feet, her shoes left behind somewhere on the beach the night before. Such a simple thing, but it was a pleasant reminder that she was free.

Clucking her tongue, Anna stepped aside to allow the animals out, watching them approach whilst wincing numerous times as hooves came concerningly close to her dozing family's heads and legs; honestly, she couldn't deny her amazement that no one had gotten hurt. She laughed quietly as Lysse—who made up the rear—licked her cheek in thanks before she bounced out of the pen after her companions, though her movements were slightly less enthusiastic than they had once been; no doubt she was missing Sven as much as Kristoff. Anna's brief laughter died out at the reminder and she grew a little more solemn; after making sure to close the door, she walked out with her toes dragging through the sand slightly. Sitting down at the edge of the beach, her feet just resting in the edges of the waves, she looked out over the sea and, whilst keeping an eye on the animals, she began to wonder how poor old Sven was doing. His sacrifice had saved the rest of the group's lives, that much was undeniable, but his lack of presence had left them all wounded.

A welcoming bark sounded from behind and Anna looked around slowly to see her brother-in-law walking towards her. Slung over his shoulders was a fair-sized hares and he wore a fairly pleased look upon his face. In his hand he carried a small contraption—a sling, Anna realised when he came nearer- and he gripped it as if it were a great prize. When he drew closer he flung his catch down on the sand just a little way away, the carcasses thankfully not smelling yet, and he settled down next to her and smiled, muttering, "G'morning. You sleep well?"

Anna nodded, her thoughts on Sven distracted. "Sure, like a log—haven't slept that well in nearly a month! You?"

"Mmhmm." He murmured, "Don't tell Elsa or Mi, they'd probably take it the wrong way, but I'm sick to death of ice by now. The sand's a nice change, though I still prefer the castle beds—you don't appreciate how lucky you were as a kid to get so much nice stuff."

"True," Anna agreed, "Everyone just sort of... Takes stuff for granted when they've got it readily."

"Yeah."

A moment passed in silence as the two simply watched the waves, both appreciative of the freedom which they had been deprived of for so long, before Anna glanced down at the dead hare a little way away and pulled a face as it began to smell slightly less bearable. "So, uh... this is breakfast, eh?"

Odd chuckled. "Oh, don't whine-it won't be too bad once it's been spit roasted for an hour."

Anna moaned at her Brother-in-Law's words and folded her arms slightly, muttering about how rude it was of him to not get up earlier so that there could have been food ready when she awoke; Odd chuckled at her and made sure to point out that if she had gotten up earlier she could have requested what she wanted him to catch. Anna couldn't think of a response to that so simply shrugged and stood up.

"Yeah, yeah..." She muttered, before turning her head to watch the animals who were now prancing about wildly, clearly glad to be out, and an exciting thought occurred to her. "Hey Odd?"

"Hmm?"

"The animals look kinda restless..." She trailed off for a minute, a glint in her bright blue eyes, "How d'you feel about a race before Kristoff gets back?"

Odd contemplated this for a second, glancing down at his catch momentarily before he looked back at his Sister-in-Law and then nodded in agreement; standing up, he rushed off to set up a fire to spit roast the hare, asking a rather disgusted Anna to skin it using the single knife that the trolls had gifted to them. With much displeasure she obliged, sloppily carving up the carcass but, despite the unprofessional finish, she still achieved her goal. Nonetheless, Odd couldn't stifle a laugh when he saw her first ever attempt at skinning.

"The island's tiny, barely two miles around I'd bet. Race on the beach, first one back here's the winner?" Odd suggested as he mounted the hare on a stick, placing it above the flame he'd made not long before which now crackled pleasantly, gently licking at the underbelly of the meat. Once convinced that the fire was large enough, he climbed up onto Brandy Shot's back and waited for Anna to join him, feeling adrenaline coursing through his body in anticipation for the run. She returned the confident grin that he sent her way, calling out, "On three!" Anna paused for a second to allow her Brother-in-Law to get ready and then, with nothing but a mischievous smirk in warning, she yelled, "Three!" and immediately kicked Misty up into a rapid trot before urging her almost instantly after into a flat-out gallop. Odd faltered for a moment but Brandy wasn't one to be left behind; fighting for control, he sped off as soon as his rider slackened the reins enough so that he wasn't kept held back.

Sand flew in all directions as the two horses ran, grateful for the chance to stretch their weakened limbs which had been subject to lack of use; their hooves made muffled thuds upon the soft beach sand and at one point Misty even began to neigh loudly, her whinnies loud enough to be heard almost all across the little island. A thick layer of sweat coated the animals' sides as they galloped hard, manes and tails streaming out behind them magnificently. Through it all, the two riders cheered and yelled at the thrill, urging their more than willing—though rather stiff and a little more slow—horses to run faster.

It took barely five minutes for the group's camp to come back into sight once the riders and raced their mounts around the island, following the beach loyally so as not to get lost in the thick forest in the middle.

"Come on, Misty!" Anna encouraged as she saw her sister, now awake and waving, at the point where they had started; Misty kicked out her back legs a little in frustration but she did as she was told, galloping so hard that her legs would later feel like lead, but after being cooped up for so long the chance to run, and not stop running, was an unmissable opportunity. Odd, in response, also urged Brandy Shot to try harder, squeezing him repeatedly in the hopes that he'd pick up his feet and beat the mare he was racing against. The stallion also had a tiny tantrum as his companion had had but, to his credit, didn't complain too much.

As the finish grew nearer and nearer, however, a new sound reached everyone's ears; just before the two horses reached the finish, Lysse, who was bellowing loudly in glee, sped past with a thoroughly exhilarated Mia sat upon her back, and the two literally skidded across the invisible finish line, leaving rather obvious marks in the sand as they did. The reindeer bleated loudly in triumph, giving a little buck as she trotted off to put her rider down and then collapsed, rolling about in the sand while heaving, a goofy version of a smile still plastered across her face as her tongue lolled out and she panted.

Odd and Anna followed soon after, their own horses seemingly aware of the fact that they had lost as they refused to look at Lysse at all, something which highly amused their owners who remained in good spirits; Mia laughed at her own friend and rushed over quickly to help, removing her harness and then watching as she trotted off to the waters edge, tentatively sniffing at it before almost leaping in, bleating loudly in pleasure. Her tail wagged at five hundred miles per hour as she dipped her head under and she came out after dripping wet and with a dangerously cheeky look in her eye. Trotting over to the family, she cocked her head innocently before she began to shake, droplets of icy water and wet chunks of sand flying everywhere. She made a peculiar noise which sounded suspiciously like a laugh upon looking at her family and then, with a quick lick to the cheek for Mia which made her groan and push her away, crying, "No kisses, Lysse!", she bounced off happily to munch on some grass at the edge of the forest. Using her powers to make a brush out of ice, Mia followed to groom her now-disgusting pet.

"Well, that reindeer sure is fast." Anna commented idly as she kept an eye on her eldest daughter, "Mia wasn't even awake when Odd and I left. She sure did well to catch us up."

Kristoff shrugged as he came over, having returned from the forest with a small armful of wild foraged fruits and vegetables. "True, but your Fjord horses are bred for strength and endurance, not speed so much, and Misty especially's getting old. So, really, it probably wasn't that hard to catch you two up."

Odd nodded. "Yeah, Brandy's great—_who's a good lad?_—but he could never beat my old thoroughbred. Don't see much hope of ever seeing him again, though..." He frowned for a moment, before he smiled again. "But that being said, he was a cracking stallion so I doubt anyone would have sent him for meat; fingers crossed he was just stolen to be sold on to a nice home, not for meat."

Elsa and Anna smiled sadly at him as if trying to reassure him whilst Kristoff came over and clapped him on the back, though he looked especially pained for the situation was more personal to him—and by extension, easier to understand—than it was for the women. "Don't worry, mate—it's not often that someone would send a thoroughbred off for meat."

"Yeah..." Odd agreed a little unwillingly, but then he stepped away and forced a smile, "But there's nothing I can do anyway. What I can do, though, is check on this hare—don't want it burning."

Elsa laughed a little. "A hare? Are you sure? I, for one, definitely can't tell that that thing was even once alive, let alone what type of creature it was!"

Anna smiled sheepishly as she kicked her foot back and forth in the sand; Odd looked to her with a smirk and replied, "Your sister needs a bit of work in the art of skinning, let's just say." Elsa giggled a little more at the comment and looked to Anna, who was now blushing crimson red.

"Ah, that makes sense." She said as she wrapped her arm around her sister which only made the younger woman blush more ferociously as she closed her eyes and tilted her head down towards the ground.

"Hey, be nice; it was my first attempt, and I still left _some_ meat on the-"

Anna's voice was cut off by a high pitched scream only a few metres away and everyone spun around, the sleeping children jolting awake; it was quickly accompanied by a terrified bleat and it was easy to see why. Four men were stood by the edge of the forest, not especially large but not weak either; one held Mia in a tight grip, her flailing proving useless, whilst Lysse was held down by the other three, her own writhing proving fruitless.

The largest of the men—the one who was holding Mia— stepped forwards, a deadly spear held in his free hand. He looked perfectly willing to use it. "Hvem er du?"

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**Argh, late again**—**I ended up falling asleep when i was trying to write! Now that exams are over I would have thought I'd have more time to write, but supposedly holidays=working with the animals ALL day. I've done my best.**

**Anyway, before anyone asks why Mia didn't use her powers against the man, for one she feels a little scared of them at the minute (she won't turn into a young Elsa though, she'll calm down eventually) after sinking the ship, also she doesn't want to reveal who she is in case the men don't recognise them as the royals of Arendelle (unlikely but possible). **

**So, Ifigured we needed some focus on Anna and Odd because they haven't really been seen together much. Besides, they needed a chance to unwind and a race seemed fun. **

**A gentle chapter, but I hope you liked it anyway!**

**Luna**


	30. Chapter 30 - dedicated to OmegaMarker

_**Anna's voice was cut off by a high pitched scream only a few metres away and everyone spun around, the sleeping children jolting awake; it was quickly accompanied by a terrified bleat and it was easy to see why. Four men were stood by the edge of the forest, not especially large but not weak either; one held Mia in a tight grip, her flailing proving useless, whilst Lysse was held down by the other three, her own writhing proving fruitless.**_

_**The largest of the men—the one who was holding Mia— stepped forwa**__**rds, a deadly spear held in his free hand. He looked perfectly willing to use it. "Hvem er du?"**_

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_OmegaMarker:_**Yep****, Anna and Odd are good friends-don't worry though, Odd's not stupid enough to cheat on Elsa and face her wrath (nor would he really want to, he wouldn't be able to deal with Anna's antics forever). As for who the people are... well, you'll see... Thanks for the review!**

_Pabulover123:_ **Thanks for the review! As you say, the royals' ability to try and continue happily does show their fighting spirit!**

_anniGirl93: _**First off, thanks for the pictures of Mia- they're so cute! As for who the men are, you could be onto something there... And thanks for the artwork offer, I can't think of any scenes off the top of my head (other than the one that I PMed you) but I'll in the chapter comments if anyone has a favourite scene? **

_KLime (guest): _**Haha, I think the next time an animal needs skinning, Anna should just walk away xD Removing only 30% of the meat might be too difficult! Also, I never quite realised how manic Lysse is but when you put it like that... Also, you mentionned settlers on the island... you could be onto something there... as for a report from the Southern Isles... well, time will tell. (And I'm guessing you like danish ****people? xD)**

_WildVirus (guest):_ **Thanks for the artist suggestions! At the moment I'm just saving up for a commission of all the main characters so it would only be a simple one because I wouldn't be able to afford an amazing one like NightLight's etc for such a large number of characters, but maybe in the future I'll see if I can get them or Vyntresser to do a commission of just one or two of the characters!**

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"What?" Odd asked in a low voice, looking at the men with a perplexed expression, "What on earth did he just ask us?"

"Who we are," Elsa whispered without removing her eyes from the strange men. She watched them carefully, trying to keep a rational mind as she weighed up her options. From the corner of her eye she could see Anna looking about ready to yell anything these people wanted while Kristoff—who could not understand the words—seemed to be fidgeting as if he were ready to beat the men to a pulp if they did as little as move. She recognised that look; it was which he wore after Hans' betrayal. "They're Danish."

"Godt?" The man asked, his foot tapping in the sand slightly in impatience. "Lytter du?"

Elsa paused slightly as she tried to comprehend the words before she turned to her sister, giving her a look which clearly said 'let me deal with this' before turning back to the man. "Hvorfor vil... du... vide det?" She asked in response, having difficulty putting together an understandable sentence. Anna seemed just capable of making sense of what she said after a few seconds, while Odd and Kristoff looked blank and had to get their wives to translate. "I asked why they wanted to know." Elsa explained to Odd, who nodded casually and returned his gaze to the men.

"Du er fremmed?" The man continued, seeming a little less threatening this time ("He asked if we're foreign." Anna explained to Odd and Kristoff afterwards). "Français? Deutsch? English?"

Elsa took a breath, knowing it was a risky move as she answered, "Nej, norsk. We're Norwegian."

The man frowned slightly as he nodded, tightening his grip upon Mia again who began to moan; Elsa could recognise the fear on her face, knowing that she'd likely lose control of her powers soon, and tried to send her a reassuring smile to calm her. Gesturing to Mia, she then said, "Lad hendes mor... stå med dig. Hun er bange." Turning to her sister, she smiled and said, speaking freely now and without a whisper, "I asked them to let you go to Mi. She's terrified, and it wouldn't be very good if she lost control. We need to keep in these people's good books."

Anna nodded, agreeing with her sister's decision. However, upon looking back over to her daughter she noticed that the man's face seemed unconvinced; pouting very slightly with large puppy-dog eyes, she asked, "Venligst? _Please_?"

The man looked slightly swayed for the briefest periods of time before he shook his head. "Nej." He said firmly, denying the claim, and Anna's face fell before turning angry. "Hvem er du?" He repeated, his grip on Mia tightening and she squeaked from the pressure.

Elsa looked to Anna warningly, making sure she didn't blurt anything out before the options had been weighed up. They could, of course, just refuse to cooperate but such an action could put Mia (and Lysse) in danger, depending on the men's incentives. Then there was the option of giving false information, but again came the issue of what the strangers wanted with the royals—Elsa and Mia especially were extremely iconic and if these people did recognise them then the royals would lose their favour, which they couldn't afford to do. Finally, they could just tell the truth, but then there would be knowledge of where they were and Ayla could catch them up.

"Ah!" Mia moaned as she began to writhe, her eyes growing wider in a panic as the man gripped her even tighter; Elsa quickly recognised the way her fingers began to open to reveal her palm and knew that, despite her best efforts, the girl's fear had gotten the best of her.

"Wait! Vent!" Elsa yelled, "Let go of her. We'll cooperate. Uh... Slip hende. Vi vil... samarbejde."

The man was silent for a second, looking to his companions before he nodded stiffly, but he didn't slacken his grip straight away. "Du skal først, og så vil jeg forpligte."

"What?" Elsa said, the man speaking too fast for her to understand, "Could you possibly repeat that? Erm... Gentag venligst?"

"Du skal først." The stranger repeated slowly as if talking to a child but Elsa was glad for it; her Danish was rusty after having cut trade connections with the Southern Isles after the great thaw, now eleven years ago, "Og så vil... jeg forpligte."

Elsa frowned as she attempted to work out what had been said and Anna came over to help. "You go first, then I will... something."

"He probably means that he'll let her go when we give him what he wants." Elsa sighed as she looked over to her panicking niece and stood tall, hastily working out how to say what she wanted. "We are the royal family of Arendelle. Uh... Vi er de... kongelige af Arendelle. I am—uh, jeg er—Queen Elsa. This is my family. Dette er min familie."

The man frowned for a moment before nodding and, as promised, he released his grip on Mia, though he kept hold of her tightly. She took the opportunity to struggle to the side so that she was next to Lysse and the stranger, looking a little surprised, allowed her to bend down to the reindeer's level.

"Jeg ser." The man said, watching the royals closely. "Kom med os."

"Mama? What did he say?" Mia called out, not understanding Danish; after the cutting of connections with the Southern Isles, no one had seen any obvious reason for her to learn it. However, before Anna—or anyone else, for that matter—could answer, Mia felt the man's grip shift around her waist and he hoisted her up quickly, making her yell in surprise and terror. After trying to hold back for so long, her hold over her powers was weak; as she shrieked, ice rapidly began to form around her captor's legs, making him drop her in surprise. She began to sob when she noticed what she had done, looking down at her hands in horror and desperately trying to suppress the flare of magic which she'd felt then, terrified that she'd kill any more people than just the ship. She felt tears cascading down her cheeks as she scampered back to her father as fast as her legs could carry her and hid behind his legs, whimpering and clutching onto him for support; Kristoff bent down and picked her up, holding her close while glaring at the men whom he could not understand any better than his daughter could.

"Undskyld mig!" The man yelled, now furious, and he glared daggers at each of the royals. After muttering something to his companions which made them begin to hoist Lysse away, he turned back to Mia and began to shout. "Frigøre mig dette øjeblik!"

Mia whimpered quietly and tried to hide into her father's coat, feeling just a little reassured when Thomas came over and offered her his hand supportively. The man opened his mouth to shout again at the lack of action, but though she was unable to translate word for word, Elsa quickly realised—without much difficulty—what the issue was and she hastily thawed her niece's accidental ice.

"I am so sorry," she began, trying to translate. "Jeg er så ked af det." Her words were wasted on the man who huffed as he danced about on the spot a little, evidently uncomfortable.

"Kom med os. Du er på vores ø. Hvis du ikke gør det, vil vi skyde." He said slowly and, after a few seconds and with a little help from Anna, Elsa managed to translate.

"We have to go with them," she said cautiously, her voice sounding unsure and for good reason, "or else he says they will shoot at us."

"Why do we have to go with them?" Kari piped up from behind, arms folded grumpily. "You're the Queen, just tell 'em no."

"Your Aunt isn't the Queen here, Kari," Anna said gently as she tried to reason with her difficult youngest daughter, "just as we are not the princesses, and the boys are not princes. This isn't our kingdom; we can't necessarily get what we want."

Kari huffed as she slouched slightly. "Well that's stupid." She muttered under her breath and turned away from her family in a grump.

"Not really, Kari," Elsa chided, "and stand straight. Just because you're not the princess here doesn't mean you can stop acting like one."

Anna gave a nervous laugh but she kept a close eye on the men, who were slowly but surely leading Lysse away who was looking terrified, bleating quietly but continuously. "Whose daughter is she, Elsa?" She asked with a slight smile, however her voice was strained and the slight laugh which followed her words was forced. "I should be the one telling her-"

The man coughed loudly, watching pointedly. "Sidste mulighed. Kom nu, eller dø."

Elsa and Anna's eyes widened at the words, translating them quickly to the family as "Last chance. Come now or die." and nodded slowly, before beginning to walk and dragging their husbands and children along behind them, although Freddie—similarly to Mia—was being carried since he seemed unable to walk any faster than a dawdle, his feet dragging.

There was silence as the group caught up with the strange men and they followed them into the forest without any questions, a small and unwilling flock of sheep trailing after their shepherds. There was little doubt in any of their minds that the men weren't bluffing when they threatened them; their best bet was to just oblige the strangers' wishes and hope that they were not leading them into a trap.

"Kristoff?" Anna whispered under her breath, the sound of her nervous breathing very nearly louder than her words. "Do you reckon Elsa made the right decision? Y'know, in telling them who we are and all. Considering we're, well, meant to be dead."

Kristoff shrugged slightly as he whispered back, "I have no idea. I mean, your sister's not weak and Mi's got powers too, though she seems kind of reluctant to use them. Anyway, if we get into any trouble, I guess we can just call back on them, but... Well, I have no idea what these men want with us. They could be perfectly nice or they could be evil bastards like Hans and that Ayla woman."

Anna shuddered at the thought, forgetting to scold Kristoff for cursing in front of his daughter. "Oh, God, I hope not." She glanced towards the men momentarily before returning her gaze to her husband. "Surely there can't be anyone else as evil as they? Right?"

Kristoff shrugged. "Who knows. But... Well, let's just focus on these men. Ignore Hans and Ayla; they can't hurt us here."

Anna frowned as she thought of the throbbing pain in her lower back, the aching which never left and which she'd grown accustomed to; tenderly she brushed a finger over the general area of the raw brand and winced as she nodded quietly, mumbling, "Yes, of course, of course. They can't hurt us here..."

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Ayla scrunched up her eyes briefly in concentration before she disappeared with a slight pop, teleporting across the room and landing on different targets marked out on the floor, making twenty different 'jumps' before she finally returned to her original position, grinning like a madwoman as her shaking legs gave out beneath her.

"Yes!" She said in a fairly loud voice, her face held in a constant smile despite her current state of exhaustion. Her breathing was laboured, her face red as blood as if she'd just ran a marathon and boy, did she feel like it, but the satisfaction was worth the pain. "I haven't been able to teleport that many times since we found you, Seth. You sapped my powers, greedy boy."

Seth hung his head sorrowfully. "Sorry, Ayla." He said in a timid voice, completely lost as to what he'd done wrong. He didn't understand how his (unknown) mother's dark magic worked and how love—even the pathetic amount Ayla had for him—weakened it.

"Hmm." Ayla replied very un-interestedly, as she began to attempt to stand up again. Her son toddled forwards to help, always eager to feel slightly less worthless in his 'adopted' parents' eyes, and offered his hand to her, but she glared at him frustratedly and he backed up immediately. "I don't need assistance, Seth!" She bit out and he whimpered, immediately blending into the walls, clothes and all.

A moment passed as Ayla tried to locate where he'd gone before she found him as his camouflage suddenly changed, painting his body and clothes in a design which closely resembled a bookshelf. Then, barely a second later, he'd vanished.

Ayla stood still on shaky legs for a second, stunned; the boy had only ever been able to take on the appearance of his surroundings, never before doing anything like this. "Seth?" She asked unsurely, wondering if he had turned completely invisible, but then she heard a loud scream from nearby. "Seth!" She called this time, immediately recognising the sound of her son's cry.

"Mama!" Came the boy's cry and, though she was annoyed that the brat had fallen into the trap of referring to her as a mother again, she stumbled out of the room, down through the halls to where she knew the library was located. Bursting in with legs weak from her previous fatigue, she scanned the room quickly before seeing the child curled up in a ball in the corner of the room, looking terrified; he looked up, relieved, upon hearing her enter and ran over, launching himself at her in need of comfort.

She pushed him away after a second, of course, and instead patted his head once.

"Did you just teleport, Seth? Gosh, you did! This is great!" She beamed at him excitedly but made sure to step back from him, careful not to give him too much attention; it would only go to his head. "Try to teleport somewhere else! Into the hall! Go on, give it a shot already!"

Seth whimpered slightly, looking fearful but nodded weakly, his body taking on the appearance of the hallways for a moment before his was gone again and, lo-and-behold, Ayla found him laying on the floor outside the room. He'd landed badly, but he'd landed somewhere else all the same.

"Well done, kiddo." She said in a warmer tone, and she squeezed his shoulder gently. "I reckon you've earned yourself a small bowl of ice cream after dinner, if you'd like." Seth's eyes widened in shock and he nodded eagerly, his green eyes shining excitedly. "Good. Now get out of my way, child. Go to your room—no, don't walk, teleport. You're going to need the practice, I've got a job for you."

"Is it a good job?" Seth asked timidly, ready to prove himself as not a waste of space.

"Oh, it's an essential job. I'd go as far as to say _all_ of our plans depend on it."

"Count me in!" Seth said with a grin before he flashed the colours of his room and disappeared. Ayla smiled as he left, her energy restored.

* * *

**Haha, Danish is such a strange language (no offence to anyone who speaks it, but it is kinda strange). Anyway, back on topic, I'd like to give a big shout out to anniArtist93 for all the cute pictures she's done for the series, if you get time definitely check out her DeviantArt account and take a look at some of her art (especially the FP stuff!)**

**So, I bet that last bit was a bit of a shock—hopefully not a bad one though! **

**So, before I sign out I'd just like to warn that next chapter's update may be a little late because I have to go to Guides on friday evening to collect my Duke of Edinburgh award badge (wow, haven't been to Guides in years...) So, yeah, the update may be on time or it may be on Saturday / Sunday (UK time of course).**

**See you (at some point) next week.**

**Luna**


	31. Chapter 31 - dedicated to Blackknght

_**"Good. Now get out of my way, child. Go to your room—no, don't walk, teleport. You're going to need the practice, I've got a job for you."**_

_**"Is it a good job?" Seth asked timidly, ready to prove himself as not a waste of space.**_

_**"Oh, it's an essential job. I'd go as far as to say all of our plans depend on it."**_

_**"Count me in!" Seth said with a grin before he flashed the colours of his room and disappeared. Ayla smiled as he left, her energy restored.**_

* * *

_AnniGirl93: _**Haha, glad I managed to throw in a little surprise, but as for whether there's someone nice waiting for the royals... well, who knows? And as for Seth's new teleportation powers, yep, he's pretty strong, although you say that he's only five years old but Mia was two when she first used her mind control powers so... he's a late bloomer xD As for changing my name from SG to Aeluna, honestly I can't remember; I came up with the name years ago. I don't think I watched MLP back then, I think it was based off of Luna Lovegood honestly! But Luna IS definitely best pony! As for my own OC, I've got my profile pic as my OC, it's a PonyxGriffon so thanks for the offer, but I'm okay for a ponysona. Not that I'd ever say no to you drawing it if you got bored xD**

_BlackKngth:_ **Yay, you returned to us! Anyway: (Chapter 25) Yep, as you say the family was definitely getting frustrated at being cooped up and in danger for so long, they definitely needed the break! (Chapter 26) You mentioned that waves don't break the surface in the middle of the sea, honestly I didn't think of that. I guess it's basically the same sort of thing that happened ****to Elsa and Anna's parents' boat. And I'm glad you liked the chapter. (Chapter 27) Oh gosh, I always get Freddie and Seth muddled up, silly me! I'll go back and change that now; Freddie's birth definitely didn't make Ayla any weaker (hell, the fact that Elsa got away and didn't die probably made Ayla angrier and stronger!) Glad you liked it! (Chapter 28) I'm ghlad that the scene with Elsa and Tom made you laugh, and I see what you mean about them not having many wins in the 'battle'—don't worry, though, it won't be all bad! (Chapter 29) I definitely agree that the lighthearted break was much needed for the royals, and the race was fun as you said. After all se's been through, Mia especially needs the chance to unwind. (Chapter 30) Am interesting chapter you say? I'm hoping it was interesting in a good way... As for Elsa keeping up her knowledge of languages, I see your point there but all I can say is that she probably refreshed her knowledge once in a while—she could still speak it after all—but she would have placed much more priority on the languages which would seem more useful. Besides, she wouldn't have had much chance to realise she had gotten rusty if she wasn't speaking the language much.**

_WildVirus (guest):_ **I'm glad you liked the chapter! :D**

_KLime (guest):_ **First off, you're welcome for all the translated sentences, thankfully it wasn't too much hard work to be honey st but I figured it helped to set the scene. Also you make a good point with Seth's powers, it wouldn't take him long to master them considering he has nothing else to do, especially now that Hans' brothers (and their kids) are out of the way. As for Seth escaping the castle, I hadn't actually thought of that; to be honest Ayla and Hans would probably expect that Seth would be too obedient towards them (well, too scared of them anyway) to consider running off or getting out for a bit. But I like that idea, I'm afraid I stole it for a bit. You mentioned Ayla blocking his powers; she won't be able to do that because otherwise she could block Elsa and Mia's powers and that'd be annoying.**

_OmegaMarker:_ **Haha, yep, english speaking Norwegians indeed! (Not really, they're speaking Norwegian and it's translated into english for you silly people who don't speak Norwegian... because I obviously speak Norwegian, I'm just that intelligent... Kind of...) As for Danish and Swedish and Norwegian being similar... Well, that's irrelevant. Maybe the accent makes it hard for them to understand? Or maybe the men are speaking a strange version of Danish unique to the island? And I'm glad you liked the chapter!**

_Pabulover123: _**No worries about being rushed, I'm glad you got time to read!**

* * *

Seth groaned as he flopped down on his bed, bouncing as he landed and he stared upwards, attempting to make shapes from the swirling textured ceiling above him. He kicked his feet about in frustration, banging his head once, twice down on the plush mattress which he knew was of such quality that only a royal or noble could afford it.

_I wonder if my real Mum and Dad would be able to buy a bed like this. _He thought idly, fiddling with the duvet. _Probably not. They dumped me at the castle; I bet they were really poor... Still, though, that's really mean. It's not nice to dump a poor little baby; such a good thing that Hans found me. He and Ayla are really strict but at least they're not as mean as my real parents... I think._

Another few minutes trudged by uneventfully, the seconds torturously slow. Seth's eyes trailed around the room lazily as he searched for something to do and they landed upon the grandfather clock opposite; the great timekeeper's hands moved mechanically as it stared down on the young Prince, its gaze firm and unwavering. It was stupid and Seth knew it, but he couldn't help but feel small and helpless when he looked up at it towering above him.

"Step one," he murmured, growing bored of waiting around and feeling more than eager to get away from the strangely scary clock, "build up magic." He frowned slightly as he felt the reserves of power in his blood increase, leaving him feeling energised; he wasn't sure how he did it exactly, he just _did_. It was as easy as breathing; it just came naturally. At the same time, his body grew camoflauged and blended into the surroundings

"Step two," he breathed out again, "decide the place." Seth found the talking it over useful as he got to grips with his new ability; going through it in stages, though slow, seemed to have helped him gain better control. After almost half an hour—not that Seth knew how long has passed since he couldn't read the clock all that well—he had expected that it would be as simple as camouflage, but it was a much more complicated feat to pull off and left him feeling much more tired afterwards. No matter, though; he would gain stamina as he practiced.

"Three, release magic and focus on the place." He did as he instructed himself, his body again flashing a different design before he disappeared; his skin had changed to resemble the colours of his wardrobe and, indeed, he had ended up just outside the . He stumbled a little when he landed on a loose marble on the floor—he'd been playing the game the previous night—and was sent hurtling into the clothes, but thankfully it only served to amuse him. Still, his laughter was short lived as he grew bored once again.

_Argh!_ He thought, very nearly saying it aloud. _What am I meant to do now? _He looked around in aggravation, desperate for something to do—Ayla had told him to go to his room to practice his teleportation and hadn't given him express permission to leave—but, alas, he found nothing to amuse himself with.

He remained still for a little while, until the chiming of the grandfather clock made him jump and he bolted upright. With his heart thudding in his chest, he was momentarily distracted from his boredom until he calmed a little and it returned to him, completely flooding his thoughts.

_I guess Ayla didn't say I had to stay in here... _Seth thought to himself, an idea forming in his mind. _I could always go exploring... I'd still be practicing..._

He paused momentarily, thinking; he'd explored all of the castle—even the sections which he was forbidden to enter such as the war room—while growing up, sneaking around and often receiving a sharp slap or worse for doing so. He had always known that he'd get into trouble if he was caught, but it was worth it for the small amount of excitement and adrenaline which came with it.

But there was one place he'd never been, a place which even Hans, who always seemed to encourage him to do the more risky activities—to help build up my confidence, Seth would figure—had told him wasn't suitable for him to visit; the old dungeons below the castle.

"Build up magic..." Seth began as he scrunched up his eyes in concentration, his head aching very slightly. "Decide the place... And go!" He felt the magic he'd stored up burst out of his body in the familiar way, but the usual sensation of water trickling down his body as he adopted camouflage never came; an intense dizziness came over him and he stumbled, momentarily unable to open his eyes as he felt himself become weightless. Then, barely a moment later, he felt his feet on the cold wood once more. His eyes opened with a snap and his knees gave way, leaving him collapsed on the floor.

"Wha-what happened?" He groaned as he reached out for a rug nearby, clenching it in his fists for support whilst closing his eyes once more until the spinning finally ceased. Raising to his feet shakily, he rubbed his forehead tenderly and then looked around in bemusement—he hadn't moved from his room at all. As far as he could tell, he hadn't done anything differently, so why had it failed? Assuming that he must have slipped up somewhere, he tried once more; again his attempts were fruitless. One more try was just as unproductive.

_Oh, gosh!_ He thought to himself, beginning to panic. _I've lost my powers! I have! I've lost them! Ayla's gonna be mad, I'll bet! _Small tears formed in the corners of Seth's cyan eyes as he felt his hands begin to shake, his mind going into overdrive. The familiar feeling of water trickling down his cheek went unnoticed as he stressed. _I don't want to disappoint Ayla! Or Hans! They really like me for my powers! They seem proud of me_—_I don't want them to not be proud of me! __They'll think I'm lazy if I've lost them! No, no, no!_

The trickling sensation continued but Seth still didn't notice and his crazed thoughts carried on as before. Then, with his mind as distracted as it was, he was unprepared for the unexpected feeling of his body begin to twist in an impossible manner for the briefest moments in time; bile rose up in his throat rapidly and he would have gagged had there been enough time, but as soon as he felt the sickness it was over and he landed on the cold, cobbled floor of the streets.

"Waah—Oh! Hey! I didn't lose my magic!" He all but cheered in glee until he realised where he was and looked around rapidly, noticing that he was outside of the castle in one of the small villages nearby, specifically next to a small chocolatier's shop. A large sign, decorated with intricate patterns of swirls and flowers, was hung outside the store, reading "Premium Confectionery". He immediately recognised it as the only building outside of the castle which he had visited with Ayla on non-royal business; it had only been a brief, momentary trip out but it had become one of the most memorable places in the kingdom for Seth.

Timidly tiptoeing towards the shop, Seth placed a small palm upon the door and pushed on it gently, slightly surprised by the soft tingling of the bell which came when he entered. The sound was simple yet melodic and served to make him feel at home and contented; some of his previous uncertainties about being out when he was not allowed fizzled out somewhat.

"Hello?" He called out quietly, looking around at all of the cabinets filled to the brim with sweets and dainty little chocolates, foods which only the nobility could really afford. On that note, however, things had begun to look better for the poorer families too; at Hans' and Ayla's insistence, the King had organised multiple large new projects which provided plentiful jobs for the poorer people, meaning they too could afford such treats on occasion.

"And who might you be?" A voice came from behind and Seth spun to see a man coming out of the shadows. "I'm sorry, little boy, but if you have no money to buy anything and are going to just stand there gawking at my chocolates then—oh, my! Prince Seth! Apologies, your majesty; I didn't recognise you there."

Seth gave a nervous little laugh, beginning to back off slightly. "No, no, it's okay..." He murmured, turning to leave. "But I don't have any money. So, uh, I'll just go now."

"Nonsense, m'boy!" The man said with a chuckle and he pulled out a chair near to a small table, offering it to Seth. "I didn't know who you were, that's all. Have whatever you'do like; take your pick. Free of charge."

"Oh, really?" Seth asked a little disbelievingly before his face broke into a massive grin. "Well, sure! But I can't be too long..."

"Not to matter, Lad. You can take a couple back with you." Offering a small paper bag to his young customer the chocolatier smiled. "Go on, take a couple. Your mother helped me out so much back in the day; I can't say no to her son now, can I?"

Seth, who had been busy surveying the collection of chocolates, glanced up quickly. "My mother? You know who she is?"

"Princess Ayla, I meant." The chocolatier replied, opening the counter and offering Seth—who now looked a little crestfallen—a small spherical chocolate. "Here; you'll like this one." The young boy tentatively took a nibble of the treat and his eyes sparkled slightly more, though not as much as a second before, and he nodded, taking a few and putti ng them in his bag.

"Ayla's not really my Mama, you know." He informed the chocolatier as ephe took a few more of the dainty treats, placing them in the bag nervously. He'd never had this much chocolate in one go before.

"Not really, your Majesty, but she's as good as. You're lucky to have a Mother who has magic, too; that probably makes life a lot easier but it's a very rare gift."

"Yeah." Seth agreed as he rolled up the top of his bag of chocolates. "She's a good mentor for me 'cause she's magic like-" He stopped short when he realised that he'd nearly let slip that he had powers, looking away quickly; everyone knew of Ayla's magic, but his own was still hidden under wraps.

"Like what, your Majesty?" The man inquired, but Seth only whimpered.

"Doesn't matter," was his mumbled response, and he looked further away from the man who, on noticing the young Prince's discomfort, smiled warmly.

"Well, I'm sure you are quite busy so you'd better get going. Enjoy the chocolates!"

"Thank you," Seth mumbled in response and the man nodded, turning away to close the lid to the cabinet. The second he looked back to see the boy off, he'd disappeared.

_Hmm. Strange. I didn't even hear the bell go when he left._ He thought before shrugging and then grinning, knowing that if he could convince people that his sweets were good enough for royalty they were easily good for everyone else too. Not to mention it was nice as well to give something back to Princess Ayla after all she and her husband Hans had done to help; that was, however, a small added bonus.

Seth, meanwhile, arrived back at the castle feeling especially happy; after landing (with a little stumble) in the main entrance hall, he teleported back to his room and collapsed onto his bed, sighing as he dipped his hand into the bag and he pulled out a small chocolate, tiny fingers clutching the sweet before he took a nibble from the edge. Relishing in the taste, he hastily shoved the rest into his mouth and chewed blissfully, the smooth treat melting on his tongue and delighting his senses. The castle's chocolate was to die for, certainly, but this specific recipe was a strong competitor.

As with everything, of course, the sweet was gone all too soon but Seth's mind was still begging for more; giving in to his desires, he rummaged around in the small bag and brought out a thin matchstick-shaped dark chocolate, dipped in white chocolate at the end and drizzled over with a delicate amount of milk. He looked at it longingly for barely a second before gobbling it up as soon as he could. The dark chocolate was pleasingly chewy in his mouth—a result, perhaps, of some sort of added ingredient?—while the milk and white decoration was just as smooth and heavenly as the first sweet. He closed his eyes as he savoured the food, indulgent and heavenly, knowing that he'd never be allowed such foods normally.

His hand dipped into the bag once more as he heard something which made his blood chill; over the gentle noises of the grandfather clock which, in his state of bliss, had gone forgotten by the boy, came the melodic, almost angelic sound of Princess Ayla's voice.

"Seth?" She called out in that soft tone and the said Prince stiffened immediately, before teleporting hurriedly over to his bookshelf and hiding the bag behind a large copy of a fairly-newly-written book, _Fairy Tales_ by Hans Christian Andersen. It was in pristine condition and only one story had ever been read from it to him; that of the wicked Snow Queen. Whenever Ayla read it to him—which wasn't all that often—she had always made sure to mention just how similar the villain was to Queen Elsa, even speculating that Andersen may have written the story based on her cruel nature. Seth would always shiver when she said this, horrified that such a cruel person could exist.

His body flashed the colours of his bed again as he teleported back, sitting down and wiping his mouth before smiling innocently. The door opened a few moments after and Ayla stood there, smiling warmly at him in that way which made him feel special and appreciated.

"Hi, Ayla!" He called out quickly, teleporting to her side in an attempt to impress her. "Ta-da!"

"Hey, kid." Ayla greeted, her voice sounding genuinely happy and Seth felt his heart soar; he looked up to her with a grin and she beamed down back at him, an expression which she rarely gave him, until her smile disappeared and her blue eyes turned icy cold. Lifting a slender finger up to his cheek, she brushed roughly and drew back, a small coat of chocolate-brown left upon her finger.

Seth looked at his mother pleadingly, willing her not to be mad. Still, he knew that because he had defied her and Hans' orders any punishment she gave him was perfectly justified; he'd been reminded of that fact every time he complained about being disciplined. "I-I-"

"Where did you get this, Seth?" She demanded, her voice turning harsh. When the young prince only stuttered again, not quite forming the words she raised her voice, quickly using her powers to stop anyone outside from overhearing. "Answer me! You went out of the castle, didn't you; the kitchen staff wouldn't give you any against orders."

Seth hung his head in shame, muttering, "Yes, Ayla..." in the smallest voice he could muster, wishing she'd not hear him and ignore that he'd done anything wrong. Wishes rarely came true, though, and he was reminded of this as he felt the sharp slap across his cheek; he cried out in pain and fell to his knees, bracing himself for a second hit, but thankfully none came. He peered up at Ayla with tears in his eyes, wincing when she began to speak again.

"Where are the rest of them, Seth?" She asked, her voice a touch more affable. She did not smile, nor did she try to comfort him at all for his pain, but the changed tone of her voice has a fraction of the same effect; Seth raised a finger shakily and pointed towards the bookshelf, where Ayla used her powers to make all of the books fly out along with the chocolates, which floated over to her as she returned the novels back to their proper place. "Good boy, and don't you dare defy me again; I won't put up with you being defiant. Remember your place, got it?"

Seth nodded mutely and Ayla smiled, but it was evidentially forced; a warning to her son to watch out. "Okay." Seth whispered in a squeaky voice, then looked back up at her shyly. "Umm... You called me?"

Ayla's eyes widened in shock that she'd forgotten and she nodded. "Oh, yes. I've got your job sorted out. If you do well Hans and I will forgive this defiance."

Seth's eyes lit up at this promise. "What do I have to do?" He asked eagerly.

"It's like a game, really; I need you to track down someone really dangerous. With your camouflage and teleportation you're the best person for the job; the kingdom is counting on you."

The kingdom is counting on you... That alone made Seth's heart flutter with excitement and helped him to forget that the person he was being tasked to find was dangerous. He nodded eagerly, his neat blonde hair falling in front of his face slightly. "I'll do it. For the kingdom!"

Ayla grinned triumphantly, relieved Seth had been so willing. "Good. Meet me down in the large dining room in five minutes, and get changed into your comfiest clothes quickly. Don't be late, got it?"

"Got it!" Seth cried. Ayla left immediately after that, sneakily eating one of the confiscated chocolates with a slight sigh of pleasure, leaving him alone to get ready. _Yay! A chance to prove I'm not a waste of space! Won't Hans and Ayla be proud!_

Still, he couldn't help but feel that his important mission seemed, if only slightly, like it wasn't exactly the heroic job which Ayla had made it seem.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I was really hoping to get a few more reviews, so I'm bringing ****back the challenges for one chapter! **

**Using the letters below as starting letters, think of six different words. I will then use ALL of them in the next update (so long as they are appropriate, therefore no extremely inappropriate words or modern technology, so no mobile phones and/or sexual terms please! Or you can if you'd like, I'll just ignore it). **

**S**

**W**

**E**

**E**

**T**

**S**

**If you want to enter, please give a full sentence review (or more) of the chapter first. If you don't your entry won't be counted. If you enter late I'll do my best to fit your words in but I may not be able to find places for them all. All challenge words are in bold.**

**So, yeah! Give it a go!**

**Luna**


	32. 32 - dedicated to LittlePipFan (guest)

_**Ayla grinned triumphantly, relieved Seth had been so willing. "Good. Meet me down in the large dining room in five minutes, and get changed into your comfiest clothes quickly. Don't be late, got it?"**_

_**"Got it!" Seth cried. Ayla left immediately after that, sneakily eating one of the confiscated chocolates with a slight sigh of pleasure, leaving him alone to get ready. Yay! A chance to prove I'm not a waste of space! Won't Hans and Ayla be proud!**_

_**Still, he couldn't help but feel that his important mission seemed, if only slightly, like it wasn't exactly the heroic job which Ayla had made it seem.**_

* * *

_ElsaAnnaforlife: _**Thank you for the review, nice to know you're still with us!**

_Pabulover123:_ **You mentioned in your review that Seth is evidently powerful so long as he believes in himself, I hadn't thought of this but it makes sense and I may just end up using this hindrance later on (I'm so evil). Also, you say about how the people are a lot like the Germans in WWII, I'll admit that's nice to hear since I did originally base things off of them, at least back when I was setting up Ayla and Hans' Southern Isles (and off of communist Russia a little, too). And I thought the Hans Christian Anderson reference was fitting, I was looking up old children's books and it turns out 'Fairy Tales' was actually a danish book written just 2 years before the current time, so I couldn't turn that opportunity down!**

_KLime_ (guest):** Well, I must say I'm glad I got posted on time, it would have been a shame to miss you! I hope your holiday/whatever you're doing is good and fingers crossed you'll have enough internet to read the updates on time (if not, at least you'll have a double/triple/quadruple instalment when you get back!) Anyway, I'm glad you liked this chapter, and don't worry; Ayla's not going to allow Seth to go without some food-not chocolate, of course, but she won't let him exhaust himself. He's too useful for that.**

_anniGirl93: _**Haha, I'm guessing you like Seth, huh? Anyway, to answer your question (well, not a question but still) Ayla would have realised immediately that Seth had teleported outside, there was no need for him to tell her xD And thanks for the challenge entry!**

_Asome (guest): _**I agree, it's nice to have a change in scenery once in a while. And Seth IS Ayla's actual child, I'm not quite sure why you're confused... If it's because I refer to her as "Seth's 'adopted' mother" then I'll explain, the 'adopted' is in quotes so as to show that it's only how Seth sees it, not the actual truth.**

_blackknght:_ **I'm glad you see Seth as a rather naïve child, ****mainly because that's how I hoped he would be portrayed. As you say, though, if he finds out the betrayal will definitely hurt him _a lot_. I'm glad the chapter was good!**

_WildVirus (guest):_ **I'm glad the chapter gave you a nice break!**

_CdrRMF:_ **I'm glad you're still with us, I thought you'd abandoned the story which was a shame. I'm glad you're still enjoying it! And as for your question on Seth, you hit the nail on the head; he has to have seen the place he wants to teleport before which will make his quest harder. On that note, though, don't forget that Ayla has enough powers to help him out as well (you'll understand that bit fully at a later date). Also, as for how far he can teleport, Seth can teleport anywhere (that he's seen/been to before) but the further the distance, the more tiring. To put it in perspective Ayla can teleport five times across a large room and is then pretty tired whereas Seth would be able to do that and not even notice. Ayla can also teleport to another country, however she'd end up in a temporary coma upon returning (ever since Seth was born her tiny amount of love for him has made her weaker). Seth on the other hand could teleport to another country and back and would probably just feel extremely tired for a little while, sort of like running a long way. Hope that helps!**

_LittlePipFan (guest):_ **Sure, if you want to make a wiki go ahead! I look forward to seeing it-any chance you can give me the url?**

* * *

"Mama! Do you have any **sweets**?" Thomas' quiet voice pleaded through the near silence. The past twenty minutes had trudged by, the only sounds being that of footsteps upon slightly-damp leaves and the occasional grumbles from the children, mainly Kari and Freddie; the poor boy was feeling rough once more, Pabbie's magic having started to wear off so that the infection could slowly start taking effect once again. A thin, winding path had been worn between the trees, most of which had many overhanging branches creating a tunnel that, though presumably delightful in summertime, was rather unpleasant—one could even go as far as to call it bitter and harsh—in the final month of winter. Despite the frigid air in the shade, though, it wasn't dark. The world was just a slightly less vibrant painting, coloured in with brushstrokes of duller colours. In a way it was more reassuring than the bright light of the beach, mind-numbing even.

Kristoff walked at the front, closest to the strange Danish men. As the strongest in the group—such a statement was undeniable—he felt that it was his duty to protect his family. Odd followed barely a metre behind him with the same motivation, being considerably less strong but still able to pack a decent punch if he needed. His knife had long since been taken from him, unfortunately. The rest of the family trailed behind, Elsa carrying Freddie—something which had made her begin to stumble with fatigue—and Anna shepherding the children from behind. She had carried Thomas for a time when he hurt his knee tripping over a large tree root, but had long since gotten tired and had put him down. Kari remained grumpy, whilst Mia walked as tall as she could, her hands held stiffly by her side; she was terrified to use her powers, not wanting to hurt anyone else, but knew that she would have to if the men ended up being dangerous. The animals followed at the sides, Lysse having to walk with a halter beside the men and Seier's mouth was roughly clamped shut with a rope, stopping him from attacking. His deep growls still sounded, though.

Just as the forest began to feel unending, Anna noticed something which cut through the bleak light of the tree-tunnel and called out to them all, so warm and promising after the trek across the uneven ground. It had hardly been torturous but nor was it enjoyable, leaving the royals feeling a little worse-for-wear but otherwise unharmed; nonetheless, their aching in all of their limbs was not imagined.

Upon nearing the edge of the tunnel, it became obvious that they had reached a medium-sized clearing in amidst the forest. Small cottages were scattered about in a circle, perhaps about fifteen or twenty, each of which had an average sized garden at the back. Most had a small field of crops growing; a few had a goat or a sheep, or birds in pens—the majority were chickens and ducks, though one family had two **turkeys**. At the centre of the buildings was a small well, though each home had its own **water basin** in the back garden—Thomas did whisper up to his father at one point to ask if he had any pennies to throw in, hoping that it was a wishing well, but all change that the royals had had long since been stripped from them by Arne's cronies. Nestled between two of the eastern-most cottages was a wide grassy path marked out by smart wooden fences which, upon closer inspection, led to a small farm which was growing hay and wheat as well as rearing a few cows, pigs and **sheep** in a small barn.

All things considered, it didn't look overly dangerous. It was just a small village with your average people; no psychotic fathers, no heartless sorceresses. That alone was a wonderful thought, even sweeter than sugar.

"Excuse me, sir? Uh, undskyld mig?" Anna queried, looking around the little town in both puzzlement and delight. "Why have you brought us here? Hvorfor har du, um, bragt os her?" She waited for his answer in anticipation, hoping that he wouldn't reply that he was going to have them all killed; of course, to admit such a thing would be a stupid action on his part, so perhaps he'd lie all the same?

"Du kan ikke få lov til bare vandre øen. Du kan skade vore kvinder, vore børn. Vi stoler ikke på dig her."

Anna had never been as keen on learning languages as her sister and the man's words left her clueless; turning to Elsa to translate, she waited patiently as the queen worked out what had been said. "I think he's saying they want to keep an eye on us. He said they don't trust us here, but I don't quite understand why not. I could ask why they're **suspicious**, of course, but honestly I'm really not feeling up to it; my legs feel about ready to buckle underneath me and my eyes haven't been this heavy in a long time."

Odd frowned at his wife, looking concerned. "Come on, Elsa. Let me take Freddie already—if you're so tired the extra weight can't be helping."

"No, no, I-" Elsa began, ready to decline Odd's offer (for the fourth time that day) but ended up with little choice as Anna dragged her nephew from his mother's arms and handed him to his father. The princess grinned triumphantly at her older sister.

"Shut up, Elsa. Odd's not going to drop him or anything—give yourself a break."

A short cough from in front sounded and the man stood with his arms folded across his chest, his expression evidently a little frustrated. "Er du færdig?" He snapped, though none but Elsa and Anna could understand at first ("Are you done," Elsa translated for him) and the group nodded slowly, none too keen to lower his opinion of them further. He grunted quietly and muttered something to his companions; they, in turn, nodded in assent and one began to lead Lysse away roughly, hauling her along as she bleated and dug her feet into the ground, while the others attempted to catch the remaining animals. The seeming leader ignored this and motioned for the royals to follow him in the opposite direction; of course, this was an extremely unpopular plan.

Kristoff was the first to shout out. "Hey!" He yelled angrily, storming up to the man and stopping in front of him. The stranger was strong, but the prince's build was larger and much more intimidating. "What are you doing with our animals!"

The man looked about perplexed, not understand a word of what had just been said; glancing over to Elsa and Anna, he waited for them to translate for him. At first neither woman made any attempt but, upon realising that her sister was not going to help, the Queen sighed and began trying to communicate with him, suddenly aware of the beginnings of a headache. "Vi vil gerne vide, hvad... uh... du gør med vores dyr." The man nodded his understanding and Elsa let out a small breath of relief before he began to answer her.

"De er lige ved at blive taget til staldene. Min mænd vil ikke skade dem."

Elsa was silent for a second before she managed to decipher the man's words. "He says they're just being taken to the stables... I think. His men won't hurt them."

Kari laughed shortly, but it quickly dissolved into a momentary coughing fit. After **enduring** the discomfort, she glanced at the man momentarily before turning back to her aunt, looking frustrated. "Yeah right." She choked out, her scratchy voice having gotten no better—but then it hadn't gotten any worse, either, so at least she could still force out the odd word or two. "Bet he'll... cook them... Make us... eat."

Mia frowned at her younger sister's words and gently slapped her wrist scoldingly, scowling. "Don't tease, Kari." She said firmly but quickly noticed something was off; glancing up, she saw that her mother was stifling a giggle and she frowned. "Mama! That is not helping!"

"Sorry, sorry," she replied, still barely containing her amusement, "carr-"

"Undskyld mig!" The man shouted now looking as if he was about to shoot the next person to talk. "Du er i min by, min ø. Du gør som jeg siger, fik det?"

Anna looked offended by the man's words, frowning as she muttered under her breath with disdain, "How rude". Elsa, of course, understood as well but was much more successful in covering her emotions, though she too felt slightly put down. "Come on, he's getting frustrated with us." She began.

"No kidding," Odd commented with a chuckle as Kristoff nodded in slight amusement, but a glare from (a very **sleepy** and potentially dangerous) Elsa quickly quietened them.

"Better." She said firmly, wondering how on earth she'd gotten so strict all of a sudden. Brushing the thought to the side she turned back to the man and said, "Undskyld. Bly på."

"Endelig." The man snapped, walking off at a brisk pace and muttering under his breath. Anna looked at her sister a little skeptically, unsure as to whether the man really was trustworthy or not; the constant glances towards him by Odd didn't help her nerves but, as Elsa reminded her, he wasn't the best judge of character. At least not at first; he had an understandable distrust of new people, especially towards those who try to kidnap an eight year old girl.

"Don't worry; if he does turn out to be dangerous, or even just **worrisome**, I am more than capable of handling him. Here." Elsa took her sister's palm and softly closed her eyes, almost falling asleep as she did so, and she felt a little of her powers flow into Anna's own body. The younger princess shivered at the chilling feeling in her blood but it was not unpleasant; Elsa, in turn, sighed at using some of her powers, feeling strangely rejuvenated after letting go of a little. "Now you can handle him, too. And let's be honest-" She began to walk quickly, pulling her sister's slightly tattered dress as she went. "Your husband over there is one tough bloke, hmm? Just look at those muscles."

Anna giggled quietly, her eyes shining slightly as her amusement shone through this time, while Kristoff looked away a little, suddenly bashful; he wasn't one to boast or show off. Odd barely even noticed what had been said, his eyes constantly watching the stranger for the slightest sign of danger; he'd grown up in constant **terror**, had learned that it was a valuable emotion. It constantly kept one alert; unless he could trust someone completely, he knew a little skepticism was a gift. The added awareness it gave could be the difference between life or death.

The walk was only a short one this time, a quick one-minute stroll across the village—which turned out to be rather larger than it looked—before the man stopped them outside one of the newer looking cottages. The wood was slightly weathered and the thatch on top was evidently not fresh. However the building's design was obviously more modern than the others and, most notably, the door had half the extra height; clearly it had been designed for people who were taller. Most of its neighbours seemed to have been built long before, perhaps in the previous century? One thing was constant, though—all of the cottages were quaint, but perfectly homely and inviting. This particular cottage even had **wild** ivy growing up the walls, making it seem almost seem like something from a fairytale.

"Komme," the man instructed as he knocked gently on the door before pushing it open. He **entered** the little house without hesitation—clearly people here didn't mind people coming and going as they pleased. It was nice to see how relaxed the community was.

The inside of the house was just as warm; a few basic children's **toys** were scattered about the edges of the first room including a crudely painted wooden spinning top and a carved **elephant **whose trunk had half fallen off. The reminders of childhood innocence were pleasant yet Elsa's heart ached at the reference to her own predicament. A woman who appreared to be in her late thirties was sat at a small wooden chair, **embroidering** a piece of material quietly.

"Åh, hej." She said quietly, looking at her visitors with minimal interest and Elsa and Anna were both quick to reply, saying 'Hej, frue.' Their husbands soon managed to figure out that they had simply been greeting each other, and mumbled the same words awkwardly in possibly the worst danish accent ever. "Oh, Norwegian?" The woman asked politely, shocking the royals and she gave a small smile. "I did recognise your... how you say... accent. My husband is from Norway. He will home soon. You can speak with he—I do not speak your language very good." She paused for a moment and then smiled a little wider, though her eyes did not shine. The brown orbs were void of emotion, almost lifeless. "My name is **Sadie**, by the way. I did live in... How you say... England."

"Oh, thank you, Ma'am. Tak." Elsa said a little uneasily, looking around at her family for support. The woman seemed nice enough, but... There was something off about her.

The strange man stepped forwards again, looking—Sadie. "Jeg vil efterlade dem med dig. De er sikre. Jeg formoder, du vil huse dem?"

"Ja." The woman's answer was short and simple, and she remained staring at her danish companion unblinkingly. The stranger looked away quickly, evidently uncomfortable; no one could blame him. Sadie continued to stare after him as he left, blinking but once, and Odd had to clear his throat to get her attention back; she turned her head to look at him slowly, watching him with childlike curiosity. "What?"

"So, um..." Odd began, feeling unsure of talking to the strange woman; her actions unnerved him. "Do you know what is going to happen now?"

"Do I know... what is happen now?" She repeated slowly, trying to work out how to answer. "No, I do not know. You just stay here. In my house... Here."

Anna's eyebrows raised in surprise at Sadie's words. "Okaaay then." She said slowly, her eyes darting between her family and the woman. "Well, my nephew is very sleepy... I think I'll just take him to bed." She walked over to Odd and removed Fredrik from his grip, cradling him gently and beginning to walk away before she spun back around to look at Sadie. "Umm, do you have a spare room?"

The woman's face remained blank and unreadable. "Spare?" She queried, clearly not recognising the word; Anna repeated herself, simply asking for a bed, and Sadie directed her to the back room, mumbling about how the **waterfall** at the back of the house sometimes flooded it in there with **trickles** of water. Elsa, for one, didn't recall hearing the sound of falling droplets but pushed it aside, blaming it on her tiredness; when Anna returned, she confirmed that there was, indeed, no waterfall behind the house. Sadie explained that it could only be seen when one was not directly seeking it. This justification was met with a small chorus of unconvinced mumbling.

"Yeah, right!" Kari croaked out in her hoarse voice, ever the unimaginative one. Sadie, however, did not seem to pick up on her evident sarcasm.

"Yes, right." She repeated, a small smile gracing her lips. Those brown eyes remained dull once more though, making Elsa begin to wonder whether she was blind. The woman seemed to recognise each of them, though, so she quickly dismissed this hypothesis. Indeed, Sadie was studying Kari carefully, her lifeless eyes watching her unsettlingly. "Little girl, your... how you say... **ego** is large. Quite big, very big. You are not that amazing. You do not **stun** me."

Kari's mouth dropped at the woman's seemingly unrecognised rudeness and she turned away quickly, storming off to the opposite side of the room and sitting down on the floor, staring at the wall in fury and mumbling in her strained voice, "I won't... stay... here." In the seconds that followed, the room descended into a painful silence, only broken when quiet whimpers came from the room in which Freddie was laying. Elsa yawned as she recognised her son's discomfort and walked off slowly in the direction to try to comfort him, tiredness hindering her movements. Sadie watched her leave, her gaze lingering for a while.

"You watch the **sunset **today. It is very... beautiful here. Go on, go outside. Watch the sunset." She said in that same un**enthusiastic**, emotionless voice.

"But... it's not even the afternoon yet." Kristoff commented, looking out of the window at the bright february sun which was blazing down upon the village in the middle of the forest.

"Yes, I know." Sadie said, her perturbing eyes settling upon him. "You stand outside. You wait."

"Oh."

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**First off, LittlePipFan (a guest) has started a frozen powers wiki, if anyone wants to contribute go look it up! (I'm working on getting the url off of them to share).**

**Second, thank you to everyone who took part in the challenge; it was tough to get the words in and I had to miss out a few: "eyewitness" from Pabulover123, "satisfactory" from anniGirl93 and "elope" from ElsaAnnaforlife. I got the other twenty one words though!**

**This was quite a calm chapter, hopefully you guys don't mind! Personally, I thought Sadie was quite a nice addition. Please review and also, if you can, help out with the wiki! (P.S. If you want more action in the following chapters, give me ****suggestions!)**

**One last thing, be sure to check out my 'favourites' on deviantart (just search 'Aeluna DeviantArt' in google) because I'm starting to get some art done of the frozen powers cast! Take a look! **

**Luna**


	33. Chapter 33 - dedicated to disneylover115

_**"You watch the sunset today. It is very... beautiful here. Go on, go outside. Watch the sunset." She said in that same unenthusiastic, emotionless voice.**_

_**"But... it's not even the afternoon yet." Kristoff commented, looking out of the window at the bright february sun which was blazing down upon the village in the middle of the forest.**_

_**"Yes, I know." Sadie said, her perturbing eyes settling upon him. "You stand outside. You wait."**_

_**"Oh."**_

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_WildVirus (guest): _**Yeah, Kari is cute, is she not?**

_Asome (guest): _**Glad you liked it.**

_Pabulover123:_ **I'm glad you find Sadie and the new town interesting! I hope you like this chapter too!**

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Under Sadie's orders, the royals had waited for roughly an hour outside, leaving them all shivering by the end—minus Mia, of course, with Elsa still watching Freddie—and silently cursing the peculiar little woman. Why she had wanted them to stay outside and wait for the sunset was a mystery to them all; it could surely only be blamed on her evident disconnection with the world.

The door opened slowly and everyone spun around immediately. In the open entrance Sadie could be seen standing, watching them all with interest. She cocked her head very slightly with a very-nearly-inquisitive expression. "Why are you out in cold? Do not stay, come inside. You would freeze."

Kari let out a low groan. "Uh! You... said... Go out!" She forced out, glaring at the woman as she huddled closer to her mother for warmth. Sadie's blank, vaguely interested expression turned to one of slight amusement.

"No I did not, little girl." She replied with the ghost of a smile. "Come in, it is cold." Ushering the bemused group back into her home, where Elsa had since returned looking a little more awake, she closed the door and shook her head, slightly amused. Muttering under her breath in Danish about 'funny people' she slowly toddled into the kitchen, bringing out a tray of small honey sandwiches a few seconds later. The smell was to die for, especially since the group had missed breakfast and it was now nearing twelve.

"I hope you like." Sadie said as she placed the tray down on a small table. She smiled warmly at the 'strange' people. "I made them." She beamed a little—though as usual, it did not reach her eyes—as if immensely proud of herself; Anna, for one, was impressed with her as well, for wasn't sure the woman should have been allowed a knife to make them with in the first place. She hadn't come out with a sliced finger, though, so she'd done pretty well.

"Wow, thanks!" Thomas cried, digging in eagerly as he grabbed a sandwich and shoved it into his mouth whole, completely stuffing his cheeks as a hamster would; he laughed whilst he attempted to chew—something which Elsa reprimanded him for—and made a soft moan of pleasure as he tasted the honey, such a sweet and rich flavour of which he'd been deprived of for a month. Mia and Kari also took a sandwich each—the latter with a rare smile upon her face which replaced the more common scowl—and tasted, both approving. The adults all smiled at the children's expressions and gratefully took the last remaining servings, feeling much happier at the taste of sugar.

Just at that moment a knock came at the door and a man, presumably not much older than the woman, stood there with a block of wood under his arm. He was straining to keep it elevated and not drop it on the floor, but he still managed to force a grin. Upon seeing the royals, however—or, more specifically, upon noticing Elsa—he began to lose his grip; had Elsa not used her powers to push him backwards when the block did fall, he'd have had a broken toe. As it was, he came out just shaken up.

"Gosh! I am so sorry, your Majesties—I didn't expect to see you here." He stammered as a small glower formed on his face, bowing quickly to show his respect.

"Oh, there's no need for that." Elsa said, making the man look up unsurely. "I must say we are all indebted to you now, anyway."

"De opholder sig her, Ole." Sadie said blandly, sitting down and resuming the embroidery she'd been working on before. The man, who had been referred to as 'Ole', watched his wife for a moment without the slightest shock before he turned back to the royals, eyeing them in a similar fashion to the other men.

"I see. Well, I, ah, hope your stay with us is pleasant. We can't offer you a castle, but... Well, we have two spare rooms." His voice was dull as he stumbled a little over his words and his quick brown eyes never once left the royals, constantly darting among them.

Kristoff, oblivious to Ole's actions, chuckled quietly at the man's words. "Don't worry, we've been roughing it a lot recently. It's going to feel like we're staying in a castle at least."

There was a moment of silence before the man looked at his feet, clearly feeling unsure of his place. "Pardon my asking, but... Why have you been roughing it? I can't see much reason for people of your class to have any need to struggle. Unless..." He trailed off before shaking his head. "Sorry, ignore me. It's not my place to ask."

Elsa looked towards her family with more than just a little confusion; perhaps this man didn't know of the "deaths" of the entire royal family of Arendelle, but surely word would have gotten out by now? "Haven't you heard?" She asked in puzzlement. "My Royal Advisor staged the deaths of my entire family. We've had to flee the kingdom; it is no longer safe there."

The man was strangely acceptant of this as he nodded with a... was that a small grin? "I see." He muttered, looking away with a satisfied expression which quite clearly implied that he believed that they had gotten what they deserved.

"Ole?" Elsa asked curiously, noting his expression as everyone else but being the sole person willing to comment on it. "Is there something the matter? You seem rather... Unwilling to look at us."

"Tis not my place, your Majesty. I'm but a humble farmer."

Odd and Kristoff both grinned lightly at the man's words, whose face bizarrely darkened further upon seeing them reacting. "Don't worry about it, mate; I'm still just an ice harvester-" Kristoff began, but was quickly cut off by Odd.

"Hell, when I met Elsa I was just living alone in the forests!" He added with a small chuckle, not uncomfortable about his situation around normal people like Ole; when in the company of other nobles, though, he naturally felt out of place, especially when they watched him standing at Elsa's side with their scornful, contemptuous glares. Kristoff, as Anna's partner, recieved a similar treatment; he, however, was often able to sneak out while the noblemen and women kept their eyes focused on Odd.

"Anyway, as I was saying," Kristoff continued after sending a short glare in his (almost) Brother-in-Law's direction, "we don't worry about class. We'd be hypocrites if we did anyway."

"I see..." Ole mumbled but he still kept his gaze away from the royals, instead settling upon his wife who had since lost herself in her embroidery. A heavy silence descended upon the house as both sets of occupants avoided eachother's gazes; soon, Kari grumpily toddled over to the toys at the edge of the room and began to play with them unenthusiastically, Thomas joining in soon after a little unwillingly; though he got along with her better than anyone else, his sister wasn't always the easiest to have fun with.

"So, I'm guessing you have a child?" Anna asked tentatively as she checked on her playing twins, not wanting to put Ole off of them any more; it seemed like a fairly safe topic, though. Surprisingly, Sadie glanced up momentarily with a wistful look in her eyes before her focus was returned to her project. If it were possible, Ole's eyes darkened more; not such a great conversation starter after all.

"No." He said flatly, though his voice quivered slightly at the end. "We don't."

"Oh, I'm sorry—I just thought, with the toys..."

Ole cut her off with a sharp glare her way. "We did have children... Both my boys are now dead." From the way his voice remained semi stable, it seemed apparent that the wounds had somewhat healed over; of course, such pain would always leave a scar, as Anna knew too well. With a small breath, she desperately reached for Kristoff's hand and gripped it tightly; he clutched onto her fingers firmly in return, his own body feeling momentarily weak. Mia cuddled into her mother's side at the reminder of her own family's loss, not really remembering Dawn but knowing of her existence. She had always known that she had had another sister; Kari and Tom continued trying to get along, oblivious to the fact that they were actually two of a set of triplets rather than twins.

"H-h-h..." Anna began to stutter, trying to ask what had happened but not quite able to form words, feeling incoherent.

"How? They fell through ice, maybe three, four years ago, and got pneumonia. Both gone within the week. They were so young... Six years and two years old." He gave a short, bitter snort as he finally looked towards the group, glaring at Elsa with eyes made of razors. It had not been her fault, but she—along with Mia—was the weilder of the thing which had stolen the two boys from this world. Under his brutal stare, Elsa shrunk a little, her constant paranoia causing her to shuffle closer to Odd and her sister for comfort, while Mia whined quietly and wrapped her arms around her father's broad waist, clinging on for support. "It's no wonder my wife is so unresponsive. Messed her up something rotten. Some days I wish I'd ended up like her; then I wouldn't have to see their pained, lifeless eyes when I wake up. Every. Single. Morning. Staring at me, unmoving..."

The image was horrific enough for most, but for Anna it was unbearable; with a short, agonised cry she tore away from Kristoff and belted outside, collapsing onto the dirt floor of the street, shaking. Ole watched her go silently, looking a little disgusted, while Sadie glanced up as the door slammed shut. "Your wife seems sad." She commented offhandedly to Kristoff who nodded mutely at her state-the-obvious comment, slightly surprised as usual by her dull tone but getting used to it slowly. Gently easing Mia over to Odd, who began to ruffle her hair gently—she quickly switched sides to her aunt before her uncle could mess up her appearance any more—he then retreated outside to try to calm Anna down.

"I... Don't mind her." Elsa said slowly, feeling so out of place after hearing of the boys' cause of death. "My sister lost one of her own children—a daughter—a few years ago. I think your words hurt her; her pain is still raw."

Ole's disapproving eyes softened very slightly momentarily before they hardened up once more. "I see." He muttered harshly, his voice unsympathetic. "Perhaps I am a little like my wife; I lost everything that day, and a little of myself as well. I don't even grieve my boys anymore—I've lost that part of me. Your sister still had her other children to care for, though; to live for. My wife does not live anymore—she merely exists. I am slowly going down that route myself."

Elsa was taken aback by the man's words but couldn't help feeling sorry for him, despite his harsh attitude. "Uh... Is there anything that you would like to talk about, Sir?" She queried nervously, figuring that with Sadie as his only company in the house Ole probably didn't get all that much good conversation. "Or I'm a good listener if you'd like to just get something off of your chest? No doubt I've had enough practice—for thirteen years of it growing up."

Once more, Ole's eyes momentarily brightened and grew a touch less severe. "Yes, you always were a good listener to your sister."

"Pardon?" Elsa's word was more of a surprised squeak, and Ole looked to her with an apologetic look hidden in those scornful eyes.

"Sorry, I should explain; I used to work in the castle as your father's guard. You wouldn't have seen me around much, I made myself scarce when I was not needed. At any rate, I knew how things inside the castle worked, not least the way your sister would spend hours outside your door. Some days talking, others just lurking around. But... when your parents died I left. I always stayed out of loyalty to your father but, honestly, I didn't particularly like the kingdom that much; when he passed, I figured it was as good a reason as any to start afresh."

"Oh..." Elsa replied before smiling a little. "Well, the offer's still open. If you need to talk, you can trust me."

Ole raised his eyebrows while he watched her suspiciously. "Your Majesty, I ought to tell you... your appearance here will not be welcomed here. You have an extremely poor reputation here in our little town, and in all of the surrounding lands of the Southern Isles." Ole ignored the horrified looks of Elsa, Odd and Mia which came at the mention of the kingdom and carried on as if they were not even in the room. "Every few months, the mainland sends us news and some essential supplies which can't be made here; they have not been here since the new year so should be arriving soon. We've heard some rather awful things."

Elsa's mind began to wander as Ole talked and a thought, a rather concerning one at that, struck her. "What are the mainland's ships like?" She inquired in a quiet tone and Ole looked at her as if she were mad.

"Why?"

"Would you please just answer?"

Ole sighed but obliged her request all the same. "Red with purple stripes, your Highness." He answered slightly snappily, seeming irritated that she'd interrupted him (though he quickly looked away once more when he realised that he'd been rude). Elsa's eyes widened in shock and she took a step backwards as Ole began to talk again, the only thought passing through her head being _that's the same colour scheme as the ship we sunk._ _These people need those supplies. What are the odds that we sunk the supply ship? Oh, gosh, oh gosh!_

Ole's voice soon cut through her thoughts as she began to listen to him again. "-told us things which would make you cringe. Our second prince, Bjørn, was murdered in Arendelle. You attacked our kingdom, tried to murder our now-princess. You stole back from us the poor child"—here he glanced at Mia with a genuinely sympathetic smile—"whom you imprisoned in a cave yourself for Lord-knows-what reason. And we've heard more atrocious tales, too."

Elsa felt furious whilst Odd actually snarled at one point, growling out, "That's only half of the story," while his eyes flashed in anger, mainly over the comment on Bjørn. "Your sick Prince only wanted _my_ wife to produce an heir and to pay off your country's debts, nothing more. He wasn't deserving of her. And we didn't kill him; he was murdered by a sorceress." He paused for a moment as something occurred to him. "Come to think of it, she could have been related to your special princess."

Ole glared back at Odd, standing taller and looking down on him as if in some primal battle for dominance; the prince was an average height, but the strange man was a touch taller. Still, stubborn as he was, Odd refused to back down, not even flinching as his opponent looked down on him.

"Don't denounce my princess." Ole snapped, eyes flashing in the morning light which filtered in through the window. Odd glared back at him, just as furious as his fists clenched and he took a small step forwards. A small amount of his dark brown hair fell in front of his usually bright-green eyes which, in the shade his body created, looked dark and almost demonic.

"_Do not _slander my _Queen_." He roared, making Sadie look up with actual interest shining in her features—except in her eyes. From the other room, a low moan sounded as Freddie awoke from his already light sleep, while Kari and Thomas stopped their quiet bickering to watch and Mia scurried back behind her aunt at her uncle's sudden change in attitude. Odd, meanwhile, had begun to dance about on his feet; drawing back his hand, he started to let it fly towards Ole and clipped his cheek sharply as the man jerked away.

"Why, you..." He muttered, instantly throwing his own punch in Odd's direction which caught him squarely in the nose, making him yell out in pain and anger as blood began to run down into the corners of his mouth. He drew back his fist once more to attack again, but was halted when he felt a slender, cold hand wrap around his own.

"Odd, stop it." Elsa commanded firmly, glaring at the two men angrily. "You're both acting like animals; we are going to go out for a bit before you two pound each other to a pulp." Turning to look directly at Sadie, skipping over Ole who was still looking riled up as he tended his cheek, she then finished, "We'll be back in an hour or two, if that's okay with you?"

"Of course, dear." Sadie answered with a sweet smile, as if the last two minutes had never happened. Elsa nodded to her gratefully, muttering "thank you" and asking the two politely to keep an eye on Freddie, before she proceeded to drag Odd out of the room after handing him an icy handkerchief for his nose, the children following after. Kari looked especially happy at her uncle's actions, almost wishing that he'd continued; she liked a good bit of excitement every now and then.

Meanwhile, on the edge of the little village, a small boy with bright green-blue eyes watched on with much interest, trying to decide whether or not this family's actions were those of evil or not.

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**This chapter was hard to write because I got so few reviews. I really hope I'll get some more reviews for this chapter or I may have to cut the story short and end it sooner. I'd hate to do so, and I'm sure you guys would as well, so please, if you want the story to continue full-term, please help me out and review! Short-and-sweet is better than not at all!**

**So, this chapter was... interesting in the end, ****anyway. Odd got quite possessive of Elsa then (but after everything, surely we can give him that...? Uh, maybe? He's just worried is all.)**

**See you soon and please, please review.**

**Luna **


	34. Chapter 34- dedicated to PabuLover123

**_She proceeded to drag Odd out of the room after handing him an icy handkerchief for his nose, the children following after. Kari looked especially happy at her uncle's actions, almost wishing that he'd continued; she liked a good bit of excitement every now and then._**

**_Meanwhile, on the edge of the little village, a small boy with bright green-blue eyes watched on with much interest, trying to decide whether or not this family's actions were those of evil or not._**

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_disneylover123:_ **You're welcome for the dedication, and I'm glad you liked the chapter! And technically Ole is from Arendelle originally, however he now lives on one of the Southern Isles' islands. And his story wasn't fake, don't worry.**

_spartandestroyr:_ **Haha, you say you have "no viable excuses for your actions" for not reviewing... really, I like reviews but you make it sound like a crime! It's not quite that bad, don't fret. Also I'm glad you like the chapter and yes, I guess Kari is sort of like Anna (just a more grumpy version...)**

_Pabulover123:_ **Well, I'm glad the chapter was good! I didn't think about what would happen if the people of the town find out that Mia sunk their ship, I must admit it wouldn't be a good reaction! And wow, your little speech about Odd actually made me feel really bubbly (wow, that's sad... he's like my little baby!) And yes, Seth wouldn't have heard quite everything but it will be interesting for him!**

_asome (guest):_ **I'll try my best not to cut it short! And I hope you had fun reading your other stories too, I wasn't quite sure what you meant by the last bit of your comment though...**

_WildVirus (guest):_ **Haha, as you say it's definitely lucky Elsa was around to stop the men fighting! And I'm looking forward to making Seth meet the family (and I'm guessing you're shipping Mia and Seth then?)**

* * *

Elsa blinked rapidly as she pushed her body up into a sitting position, not quite understanding why she had been laying on the cold dirt floor in the middle of the night. She quickly came to the assumption that she must have fallen asleep after she dragged Odd away from Ole—she was still pretty annoyed that he'd acted so rashly, though she knew he was only trying to defend her honour—but she couldn't seem to remember anything after that. Why she'd been left out here to the elements alone, for example, she could only guess at. She ended up concluding that she must have been too heavy to move, the fact that Odd could carry her not quite registering.

Standing up, she looked around as her eyes rapidly adjusted to the dim light of the night which was only illuminated by the candlelit windows of the surrounding houses and a few large, pesky insects—fireflies, probably—which were busy buzzing around her head. Freezing them all with a small flick of her wrist, she smiled in relief when she was alone once more, no longer bothered by the bugs but feeling suddenly vulnerable in the silence and darkness that ensued.

But was it really silent? It seemed to be so, certainly, but there was something very faint which still sounded on the gentle wind; a few birds sung in time with the crickets' chirping, the occasional bleat of a goat or sheep could just be distinguished and, from some far off place, came the muffled sound of a church bell ringing. _Bong, bong, bong_. Despite being so hard to distinguish, the ringing was extremely calming, its repetitiveness helping Elsa to forget her concerns. The free feeling she felt was blissful to say the least; the threats of the Southern Isles, of Arne and his cronies, of the royal advisor and of the parasite growing inside her... For that moment, none of it even bothered her.

A rustling came from the behind and Elsa spun around unhurriedly, glancing at the large green bush a few metres away. Through the darkness a pair of bright amber eyes stared back at her unblinkingly, surveying her, as if trying to judge her character based on appearances alone.

"Hello?" Elsa called out gently, making a soft kissing sound to try to usher the creature over; it seemed as if it were human, but she'd never before seen any person with such bold and captivating eyes, and they were such a strange colour too. Crouching down, Elsa held out her palm and began to wiggle her fingers gently, again trying to lure the animal out but to no avail as it scampered off into the night. Once more its footsteps seemed remarkably human yet they were much too quiet and deer-like for it to be so.

Walking quietly in the same direction the creature had taken, Elsa felt the gentle breeze begin to pick up into a fairly strong wind as she entered the edge of the forest. Stepping carefully through the dry, crackly leaves, placing her foot down tenderly and making no noise, she briskly made her way through the trees, the shade unpleasantly frigid and making her shiver; wrapping a cloak around her body for warmth she pressed onwards, feeling an unexplainable need to find out what—or who—that creature was.

After a long trek through the forest—all of half a minute—Elsa began to hear the telltale signs of the sea; along with the salty sea air, there were the gulls swooping above the tree cover whilst squawking loudly, their heavy wing beats making the wind incredibly powerful and almost strong enough to knock her over. Only by throwing her body forwards and leaning at a dangerous angle could she move any distance at all; as soon as she touched her feet down on the sand, however, the wind stopped and she fell face first, greeted by a mouthful of warm summer sand.

Rolling onto her back, she sighed in sheer bliss as the hot sun blazed down upon her body, the moon forgotten. The warmth filled her senses; she could feel the heat, but she could smell it and taste it as well.

It tasted good.

It was a strange flavour, sugary and pleasing yet somehow it seemed off; still it was exquisite, with a slightly-earthy smell enhanced by the sweetness of chocolate and... Freshly made turkish delight... Elsa's mind suddenly went clear as she satiated herself in the experience, her senses enthralled by the blissful sensation; a low moan of pleasure escaped her lips and she clenched her fists in the warm sand, curling her toes and arching her back slightly. How a simple aroma could have such an effect on her she did not know, but it certainly did.

The slightly earthy scent slowly began to dissipate and Elsa pouted slightly as she pushed herself up, it being replaced with a more musty smell; similar, but a tad more unpleasant than the former aroma and it broke the fantasy for her. The taste of sweet treats was lost as well, instead morphing into a more acidic flavour; bitter orange with a small bite of lemon. Finding it rather unpleasant, Elsa took a hasty swig of water from a glass beside her and then stood up, the warm air growing cold once more and she felt her arms getting goosebumps.

"Elsa," a voice, extremely familiar and strangely chilling, called out in the distance. "Won't you come here, My Queen?"

With her legs dragging through the sand unwillingly as if pulled by an invisible string she moved in the direction of the voice, her mind certain that she recognised that sound but unable to place a face to it. The words repeated over and over and Elsa soon began to worry whether they were real or just in her head; she could not see anyone for sure but the words did not cease once.

"Come here, My Queen."

Drawing closer to the forest once more Elsa scanned the trees interestedly, watching out for the owner of the voice and receiving her reward a few seconds later; a man stepped out from the shadows with a grin on his face and someting clicked in the queen's mind. His body was sculped from a block of chalk, so very white, his hair a warm chocolate brown which fell around his face; eyes of a slightly dull green stared at her unblinkingly, assessing her with slight disdain. A thin but bold white scar could be seen down the entirety of the left side of his face.

"Hello, My Queen." He said in a slow, heavy voice which made Elsa's knees go weak and she collapsed to the floor, gazing up at him as an adoring puppy would, or, perhaps more fittingly, a starved child would at a man with an apple.

"Odd?" She asked slowly, recognising that handsome face from somewhere; he looked like her husband, sure, but she was sure she was wrong. Indeed, the man shook his head and grinned, his almost-emerald eyes glinting. Elsa could've sworn she saw a pair of fangs as well though that did, admittedly, seem a little illogical, especially when he bent down to her level and offered her a hand to help her up, not making any attempt to lunge at her.

Nope, probably not a vampire. Come to think of it, she wasn't even sure vampires were real; after a moment's contemplation, she remembered that she was too old to believe in such nonsense.

Not-Odd chuckled when she looked back at him a few minutes after, having argued with herself for quite a while. He hadn't moved at all, nor had he made a single sound. "No, I'm not a vampire," he said with a wicked grin which made Elsa frown, not even noticing that she must've said her previous thought aloud, "but you do know me. Don't you remember me, Dearest?"

Elsa shook her head slightly and the man reached his hand forwards so that it was resting just next to her cheek. He held it there for a second before jerking it towards her face, a thunderous _thwap_ making the chattering birds squawk and fly away in terror. Elsa, in turn, let out a shrill cry of pain and looked at the man in shock.

"Why would you do that?" She pleaded with him for an answer but he gave her nothing useful in response. At least, it didn't seem to be of much good at first.

"Now, Elsa. Will you go to war and help Corona?" He said fiercely, his gaze twitchy as his eyes flickered peculiarly.

"War? Help Corona? Whatever do you mean?" She asked, dumbfounded, tenderly nursing her stinging cheek. Not-Odd just grinned and waited frustratingly for her to understand, but she seemed to be having no luck.

"Would the name 'Dagvin' help you remember?" He sneered, making Elsa frown momentarily before she remembered in a blinding flash of clarity.

She had been pregnant with Freddie.

The Southern Isles had gone to war with Corona.

Odd had been replaced by a lookalike imposter.

_Dagvin_.

"You!" She snarled, eyeing him furiously. He gazed back at her with those haunting grey-green eyes, staring into her very soul. The action alone made her shudder, let alone the memories: Dagvin—who she had then assumed to be Odd—pinning her down, eyes glinting furiously at her refusal to drag her people to war; his brutal punishment of her for not obeying him—a warm up, someone sick would say, for what she would endure many years later at the hands of her father-in-law's own men; her own constant pleading with him to stop and her desperate cries of "Odd, please don't! Think of the baby - it could hurt the baby!"

As the man's hand connected with her other cheek, the pain overwhelming and making a deafening boom sound, Elsa began to remember a nicer memory which would have seemed extremely twisted out of context: the torturous interrogation of Dagvin once he had been discovered to be a fake, and his own death. Perhaps not as slow an end as Elsa would have liked for her pain, but he had died all the same.

Wait...

"You're dead." Elsa said, eyeing his chalky skin with skepticism, the vampire theory suddenly seeming logical and she stumbled backwards. Dagvin rushed forwards at an incredible speed and lifted her up by the chin, throwing her with a hefty hurl; she screamed as she landed on the floor in agony, her body getting mangled by the impact. And, once again Dagvin sped forwards to her, eyeing her up with great pleasure.

"Yes, Elsa. You had me tortured for information, and I killed myself. The sinful way out, but so be it." He snarled as a wolf would as he took a step closer, inching stealthily to make up the last few metres of distance. Elsa desperately sent a beam of ice at him, trying to discourage him, but it merely passed straight up through his body.

Bending down at her side, Dagvin took hold of her right arm and held it gently before yanking it roughly back into place, making her scream in yet more agony. He repeated the process for each of her broken limbs, slowly pulling them so as to realign her body, leaving her a weak, blubbering mess from pain.

As Dagvin roughly clutched hold of her hand, breaking the few unbroken bones in the process, Elsa felt herself gag as she was pulled into a spinning vortex of sorts, feeling grateful when she passed out momentarily. The relief was short lived when she reopened her eyes a moment later, however, to find herself in her bedroom back at the castle, in bed with Dagvin stood completely bare before her. Behind him, the swinging bodies of her family, plus a small, naked child of unknown gender, stared at her mercilessly. Little Fredrik's body swayed the most; his eyes opened and he tried to scream but no sound came out of his mouth, only hot, sticky blood which dribbled down his chin.

Elsa, however, had no trouble making noise; her scream reverberated around the room, but Dagvin seemed only more aroused by her fear.

"Honestly, Elsa; I'd have thought you'd be used to seeing a man in all his glory by now, after all your recent sleeping around?" He glanced behind himself and laughed. "Oh, you don't like our guests? But don't worry, my dear." He took a step forwards and licked his lips, making Elsa whimper and scurry backwards. There was nowhere she could hide. "You'll be joining them soon. I just need my _fun_ first."

"No, no, no..." She whined, desperately clawing at the wall, wanting to just fall through. She could just her the low moans of her son as she tried to escape, Freddie's words gurgling and full of blood. Dagvin spun her around and gazed into her with snake-eyes, his tongue forked.

"What's that, Elsa? Don't hurt the baby?" Dagvin laughed in a sadistic manner, his head lolling backwards so much as he did so that it seemed ready to fall off. "I'm afraid this time, Queenie, you will lose your baby. Don't say it would be good riddance; I can tell you still like it really. Deep, deep down you do."

"N-n-no I d-d-" Elsa tried to stutter in response but her words caused only humour.

"Don't waste your breath. You have nothing left to live for except that parasite now... And this time, I will break you once and for all."

He pushed Elsa down onto her back and roughly forced himself closer to her, whispering quietly in her ear in a husky, slow voice, "Long live the Queen." Then he jerked his hips, his body spasming as he did so, in one fluid motion and-

A small cry echoed around the room as Elsa jolted upright, her hair sweaty and her heart racing as she looked around herself in terror. A sudden movement below her as someone sat up jerkily caused her to cry out again and she scampered away, throwing her hands towards the threat in self defence. She still continued to edge backwards, despite the mutterings of "Elsa! Elsa, watch out!" and, as a result of doing so, ended up falling from whatever object she had been sat on before—a sofa, it turned out to be. It was a few more moments before her panic began to cease and her judgement began to become more trustworthy.

"Elsa? Elsa, shh." A low voice sounded as a hand reached down to help her up; she, in turn, could not hear the words which were spoken, only the disconcerting similarity between that voice and Dagvin's (which had been just a little deeper) and she jolted away in fear. The person—a man—spoke once more, but this time his words carried a hurt tone; the genuine pain that he clearly felt helped put an end to that particular stress.

"Odd?" Elsa whispered in a timid yet relieved voice as her husband nodded, foolishly afraid that she was imagining things; that her family was still hung up on her bedroom wall, that Freddie was slowly dying... Reliving the memory she let out a strangled moan and glanced about once more, stiffening up and growing frantic."Freddie! Where's Freddie?" She rushed back to her husband's side and looked at him with terror-filled eyes, gripping his hand as if for dear life. "Where is my son, Odd! Where's Freddie!"

Odd looked at his wife concernedly for a second, wondering what on earth had gotten into her before he replied as calmly as he could, "Don't worry, Elsa—he's just behind the sofa. See?"

Zipping around the back of the sofa, Elsa felt tears begin to roll down her face when she laid her eyes upon her feverish sleeping son, reaching down despite her husband's protests and pulling him into a hysterical embrace, effectively waking him from his light sleep.

"Mama?" Fredrik croaked out, coughing and moaning after he did so. "I don't feel so good, Mama..." He sighed and sobbed quietly as he buried his face into his mother's chest, weakly clutching at her dress and enjoying the cooler temperatures of the ice and Elsa's skin. She, in turn, wept along with him—but with relief rather than sorrow—and clutched him tight, crooning softly under her breath and rocking backwards and forwards, murmuring, "My sweet boy, my poor little prince."

A slightly rough but gentle hand came to rest upon the right shoulder of Elsa's dress just above the slowly healing brand and she stiffened slightly, then relaxed as best she could out of duty to her son to keep him calm. Looking to Odd, she saw him give her a weak smile and mutter, "Let him sleep, Elsa."

With a reluctant whimper, she laid her child back in the little camp bed which had been set up for him and gently tickled his forehead, a soft lullaby rolling off of her tongue in melodic notes. It took the entire song, but the boy eventually fell back into his feverish slumber once more and his mother was forced to leave his side.

Cuddling into her husband's waiting embrace, Elsa pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, rocking gently back and forth as Odd held her close. Her body fought to sleep, but every time she came close the memory of the nightmare would shock her back awake; each time it did so Odd would wait with her diligently, listening to her account of what had happened, reassuring her that they were all going to be fine (though after about half an hour he did start getting a little short with her). Still, his words were enough to lull her back to sleep for a few more hours until dawn and, this time, she did not dream at all.

* * *

**First off, I managed to find the url to the new Frozen Powers wiki (frozen-powers-trilogy.w*i*k*i*a*.c*o*m). Obviously without the *, of course!**

**Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter, I'd love to know when you figured out that the first part was a dream! I tried to throw in clues here and there, I'm intrigued as to if anyone picked up on them before the more obvious clues. Sorry if you don't like dream chapters by the way, but this story was getting just a tad too happy recently, I couldn't have that (andI figured I'd remind you all of Dagvin as well!)**

**I'd really like a few more reviews this chapter, it's been a long week and the few reviews I get are the only things keeping me writing and updating on time. Please help me out-short reviews are still inspirational! (And if anyone has the ability of holding a pencil to paper out there, sketches, even stickmen, really lift my mood!) ****If you'd like to see some artwork for the series, go check out my DeviantArt gallery and favourites (my name's Aeluna there too)**

**One more thing, thanks for 8,000 story views! Nowhere near the 80,000 on FPI, but hey, I guess most people probably abandoned the story long ago so what can I expect? It's still a nice milestone.**

**So, see you round (hopefully when I feel a little less rough than I do at the minute).**

**-Luna**


	35. 35 - dedicated to KLime and thorinii

_disneylover115: _**Glad you liked the chapter and well done for recognising Dagvin (having recently finished reading the series you probably remember him better than some other people!)**

_WildVirus (guest):_ **Well done for realising it was just a dream! And ah, I see, Mia and Seth could make good friends.**

_ thorinii (guest):_ **Wow, haven't seen you around in a while, nice to know you're still here! You just made my afternoon! :D Anyway, I hadn't even considered the idea of Dagvin being a ghost but that could have been plausible! As for not killing too many people... well, this story's hardly a happy one all the time, so we definitely will be seeing some casualties...**

_spartandestroyr:_ **Nope, I couldn't let things get too happy, what sort of dark story would this be if I did? xD Haha, thanks for the review!**

_KLime (guest):_ **Yay! Welcome home! And yes, I did miss your reviews ;) And you noticed that it was a dream quite quickly (despite Elsa's usual actions) so well done! I'm intrigued, though - when you say you realised because Elsa felt the warm sand, was that because it's meant to be cold weather or because Elsa doesn't feel warmth? (Because she actually does feel warm and cold in this, she just doesn't get bothered by the cold). And wow, I'm flattered-I've never read Dune but I looked it up and wow, that looks amazing! The fact that you can even bear to read something like this after that is awesome in itself! Thanks so much, like you say I may not have nearly the same complexity but hell, this is fanfiction (let's face it, it hasn't always got the best record) and I'm only sixteen anyway so I feel really honoured. Ahhh, thank you!**

_Pabulover123: _**I'm glad you liked the dream sequence!**

* * *

Elsa's eyes jolted open as she jumped awake, the low sound of Odd's groan audible as she pushed herself off of him quickly, resting her hands on his chest to help herself up. Guiltily ignoring his discomfort she ran to the door and opened it hastily, her hand covering her mouth as she fled to the edge of the forest; collapsing to her knees as her husband came rushing after in a slightly groggy fashion, she moaned quietly and hung her head, nausea making the world spin.

"Hey, hey!" Odd called after her in a quiet voice, aware that it was fairly early—the sun was only just starting to rise, so perhaps about seven or seven thirty?—and that most people would still be asleep. That being said, though, there were a few men and women milling around, all either unaware that their most hated enemy was currently in their midst or simply choosing to ignore their presence. The latter was more likely; word tended to travel fast in small villages such as this and the royals had been taken on a short tour the day before, thus meaning almost everyone surely knew they were here.

Elsa moaned again and Odd returned his attention back to her, pulling her hair (which had fallen out of its usual plait) back from her face as she promptly began to vomit. The stench was sickening and he couldn't help but scrunch up his face in slight disgust; nonetheless, he remained with her diligently, gently rubbing her back in an attempt to soothe her whilst reminding himself all the while that he had seen—and smelt—much worse things in his time.

"I'm okay Odd, really," Elsa said with a trembling voice a few minutes later, "but I'm an utter state; go back and check on Freddie, won't you?"

"Come on, he's not going to be any worse than he was a second ago, Elsa." Odd assured as he pulled back a few strands of hair which had fallen down the side of her face. "I don't mind staying here."

Elsa gave a weak smile. "You're too good to me."

"Nah, I just remember that you're the Queen and could have me hanged at the drop of a hat." He teased, a smirk forming on his face; Elsa gave a small laugh too, though her face quickly fell as she began to wretch once more. Once the fit had passed, she turned back to her husband with a slight smile again.

"I guess that is one way to make a man stay." She agreed before making an icy handkerchief (similar to the one she'd given Odd the night before) with difficulty and dabbing at her mouth, then standing and dusting herself off. Her skin was still pure white and she had no colour in her cheeks but her eyes were slightly brighter, her trembling slowing. Still, she had to grip Odd's shoulder to make sure she didn't fall.

"Better?"

"Mhmm." Elsa murmured quietly, walking back towards the house with Odd's aid, stumbling slightly with every other step. Smiling sheepishly she laughed in a nearly normal manner as he grew frustrated and scooped her up bridal-style; in response she placed a kiss on her fingers and then pressed them to his cheek with a grin. "I'd kiss you normally but my breath must be revolting."

Odd laughed at his wife's words. "It is." He replied with an amused tone; he received a soft slap on his arm in response from (a much less sick) Elsa and she sent him a mock glare as he muttered, "Sorry, sorry."

"That's better—you ought to be nice to me."

"You're much less sick, eh?"

"Yes, I... I don't know what came over me." Her words were slightly more strained now but she laughed quietly all the same, trying to shrug it off. "Must have been something I ate... Wait. Uh, what did I eat last night? I can't remember a thing after you started squabbling with Ole!"

"He was putting you down. I couldn't let him get away with that, surely?" He retorted as he bent down to let Elsa walk once more. Seeing at her disapproving face, he huffed. "Well, okay, maybe I shouldn't have punched him... But still!"

"Well, I guess you did do a good job of defending my honour. That and completely destroying any slither of good reputation I may have had here." She spoke with a serious tone but her blue eyes were slightly playful—one would never have believed that she'd been ill just a few moments before. "You never did answer my question though... What did I have to eat last night? My memory seems to have abandoned me."

Odd laughed again at Elsa's words, completely flummoxing her. "You fell asleep almost as soon as we got outside. You didn't eat anything—and I'm pretty sure you don't get sick from a few honey sandwhiches at lunchtime."

"Oh." She muttered, blushing slightly. "Did I sleep all evening then? Was I really that tired?"

"Yep."

"Wow. I never even realised I was so exhausted." She admitted before pausing, a smile creeping up on her face as she continued sheepishly, "That would explain why I'm feeling pekish now. Is there a cafe around here? Or perhaps... Oh, ignore me. I highly doubt that anyone in this village would be all that pleased to see us wandering around so much."

"Yeah, guess not. They're already a bit ticked." Odd said with a frown as he began to lead Elsa in the direction of Ole and Sadie's house, glancing at the villagers who were wandering around and watching the two royals suspiciously; now that they were no longer lurking around the outskirts of the settlement, instead strolling throughout the houses as they made their way back, folk had become wary. Based on what these people knew, of course, their caution was justifiable.

The village was small and most of the few houses were packed fairly closely together, thus it did not take too long for the pair to wander back to the house; entering slowly they were surprised to see that in their ten minute absence Sadie had awoken and was already tottering about, a large loaf of peculiar looking bread—it turned out to be traditional danish rugbrød, a dark rye—with a block of pale cheese and a few small slices of ham. Setting it down on the small table in the dining room, she smiled at the pair in her dull manner before looking down at a thankfully still sleeping Freddie, watching him for at least half a minute as if she was waiting for her companions to understand something.

They didn't.

"Uh, Sadie?" Elsa uttered, carefully watching the woman. "Is there anything wrong?"

"Your son is not well." She replied flatly and Elsa came over to her side, looking down at the boy and placing her palm on his forehead. Shocked by the almost scolding heat she hastily made a tiny snow cloud which dusted his body in a thin dusting of chilly powder.

"I know. He has a fever from the infection on his arm." She explained, thawing the ice bandage which she had, as of yet, not thought to replace to reveal the mess of his shoulder. She cringed at the smell which made even a hardened man like Odd frown and hastened to replace the dressing; Sadie hardly even seemed to notice as she began to look Freddie over, perhaps fancying herself to be a doctor.

"The boy, he is very sick." She informed her companions as if believing them unaware of such a fact. "His arm, the... Uh, how you say? Infection? No, the... Yuck. The yuck is make him not well. He need help, the medicine will not work. Too much yuck."

Odd listened quietly to the woman's words but his face was rapidly gaining a more and more perplexed frown. It wasn't until after Elsa explained that Sadie was probably using "yuck" to refer to all the extremely unpleasant pus that his puzzlement changed however now it was replaced by a look of concern.

"So, what are we actually going to do then?" He asked Elsa with an unwavering voice, but his left hand was slightly trembling. He hadn't considered the option that medicines wouldn't work; he'd always assumed they'd get to Corona, give the kid a few tablets and voila—all would be fixed in a few days. This was the one circumstance in which his own medical knowledge of herbs and plants was useless and now even the modern medicine was letting him down as well! "It'll be at least a few days of travel before we can even get close to Corona. If he's too sick now he'll be dead when we get there."

Elsa moaned quietly as she looked at him with pleading eyes. "It's almost another week's travel, but oh, don't say that! He'll be fine, I'm sure!" Turning to Sadie and praying that she would overlook the evident issues, hoping her slightly deranged thought patterns would make her give a reassuring answer, she asked under her breath, "Do you think he'll be okay?"

Sadie looked back to Elsa with the briefest flashes of genuine emotion in those dull eyes. Intense regret and sympathy. It was gone in a second. "No. Like he is now, he will not be better. Only magic save him."

Elsa moaned quietly and hung her head, the world crashing down all around her. She could have sworn she heard the far off cries of terrified children in that moment as their homes fell down on top of them; Odd's gentle pulling her towards him settled her slightly and she realised the sounds were just that of Freddie's quiet complaints.

"Magic... Do you mean a miracle?" Elsa asked hesitantly, not sure which answer she'd prefer. Magic seemed an almost impossible answer considering that the only person or creature she knew of with healing powers lived almost a week away in Corona, but at the same time miracles were extremely rare, almost unprecedentedly so even. She couldn't decide which option was more likely to work.

"No. No miracle, magic." Sadie replied, smiling (though without emotion in her eyes, of course) as if she didn't think Fredrik's life was in the balance. "Like you are a... Uh, you know... A magic person." She looked down at Freddie and patted his head as a master would pet his dog before walking back from him and over to the table. Gesturing at it, she said simply, "You eat now," before turning tail and beginning to walk out. Pausing at the door she quickly added, without bothering to look at the pair, "My Ole is already left. He see the animals." before she exited the house, leaving the door wide open.

Elsa trudged over with difficulty, unable to find the strength to call up her powers to close the door from a distance. Glancing outside, she sighed as the few awake villagers greeted Sadie warmly with large, beaming smiles and gleeful words—they seemed to treat her as more of a child than a grown woman, something which was easily understandable—before their gazes turned to the house and their eyes turned nightmarishly cold. The pure hatred which they contained... It was enough to make her legs go weak and she slammed the door quickly, leaning her back against it as she slid down, ending up sitting on the floor with her knees brought up to her chest.

Checking that Freddie wasn't going to awaken—his slumber was restless, but he was sleeping nonetheless—Odd came over slowly and bent down to his wife's level, though he wasn't sure how to comfort her and, in the end, settled for simply saying, "Hey, hey. It'll be alright."

"False promises don't help, Odd. Of course it's not going to be okay. How could any of this turn out even _remotely_ okay?"

Sitting down from his crouched position in front of her Odd tried to smile reassuringly. Getting it to look genuine was easier said than done. "Oh come on, Elsa. This family is the strongest bunch of people I know-"

"You don't know all that many people. You tend to stay away from all the formal lunches and the like."

Odd did manage a small, true smile at this. "Well, okay, I guess I deserve that, but this is still a bloody strong family. If you think any of us would just roll over and submit to all the sickos after us then I'm really going to wonder whether you've lost your sanity."

"But all the things they've done..." Elsa trailed off, unable to bring herself to finish. She didn't need to.

"They've done some awful things, to you and Anna and Mia most of all. Hell, they almost killed me at one point too! But like I said, we're a family and we can get over all of that together." He rubbed Elsa's shoulder and she rewarded him with a weak momentary smile.

"But... Well, what about the... You know."

"The baby?" Elsa nodded, looking away, and Odd sighed. "How many times will I have to say it before you realise that I'm not angry about that? Well, I am at my father and his men, but not at you. For all we know it could be mine..." He trailed off and tentatively touched a hand to Elsa's stomach before, without much warning, he grinned widely. "Come to think of it, I don't remember ever hearing about a woman with a small baby bump at a couple of weeks along, do you?"

"What? I... I could have sworn I was flat the other day..." Standing hastily, Elsa rushed over to the wall and, with newfound strength, used her powers to make a reflective sheet of ice; turning to her side, she ran her hand over her stomach and quickly imitated her husband's grin. "Oh my gosh! You're right!" She squealed and ran over to Odd, almost throwing herself at him and letting him spin her around in jubilation; a moment later she pushed away, looking a little more somber. "Ugh, I don't feel so good..."

"Morning sickness, maybe?" Odd suggested and Elsa paused for a moment before smiling weakly, nodding slowly with enthusiastic but pained eyes.

"Yeah, that's good." She replied before groaning. "Ugh, my head's pounding."

"D'you want to step outside?"

"Mmhmm."

* * *

Anna awoke with a start as she felt herself be sent flying momentarily as her husband, whose lap she had been sleeping in, jolted upright. Yelping, she pushed her arms outwards searching for something to grab onto; the poor girl, however, had no such luck and ended up landing on the floor with a muffled grunt.

"'Ey! Oo ent me fyin!" She slurred as she rose to her feet, looking to her husband who had begun to fuss that she was okay. As soon as she regained the ability of speech she assured him that she wasn't hurt and then developed a more jovial mood and translated her own words with a small laugh. "You sent me flying!"

"Sorry, although if you won't wake up with loud noises then I've got to get you up somehow. Your sister was squealing; must have had a good night's sleep or something." Kristoff retorted, convinced that she was okay by the fact that she was still capable of being a lovable thorn in his side. "And anyway, you did decide to sleep here on the sofa with me instead of on the floor, so..."

Anna giggled slightly and perched herself on the arm of the chair. "Like you'd ever let me sleep on the floor Kris. You're too sweet to let me rough it." Kristoff shrugged and nodded, muttering about it being true, before Anna remembered what he'd said before and frowned. "Wait. Uh, Elsa was squealing? As in, happy squealing? I didn't hear it." She frowned and grumbled in a chipper tone about how she always missed out on these things, unaware that her own cries had awoken the children (who had been forced to squish together top and tail in the single bed in the room). Of all the kids, Mia was the only one alert; the other two were simply looking around in a dazed—and in Kari's case, a frustrated—fashion.

"That is because you were asleep, Mama." She informed with a small yawn, smiling lightly. "You don't hear things when you're asleep."

Anna laughed slightly as she rubbed her eyes, muttering, "Thanks for that, Mi." With a large yawn—those things were contagious—she then turned back to her husband and sighed. "Well, now that we're all up-"

"I'm not 'wake." Kari griped in her rasping voice, rolling back over—nearly knocking Thomas out of the bed at the same time—and promptly beginning to snore lightly. Anna smiled at her grouchy daughter while Kristoff chuckled and her siblings shook their heads and rolled their eyes.

"Okay, well, _almost_ all of us are up," she corrected herself, "so we may as well get something to eat. I'm **_starving_**!"

"You're always hungry, Anna. You're a bottomless pit." Kristoff teased with a chuckle; Mia nodded shyly and Thomas guffawed at his father's words.

"It's true Mama! You eat _everything_!"

Anna blushed pink and giggled quietly. "Oh, shush. Now come on; I, for one, don't want to have to wait for you slow coaches so I'll meet you out there, unless you're coming now?"

Kristoff shook his head, his blonde mop flying. "Nah, we'll come, won't we?" He prompted and Mia and Thomas both nodded eagerly; it would seem they were secretly hungry also.

"Come on then, let's go. Maybe we can see what my _dear_ sister was so happy about that she had to wake us up for it as well."

* * *

**After the dark previous chapter a bit more lightheartedness was needed, but still... poor Freddie. What do you guys think will happen to him; will he survive or not? And what do you want to happen (I can't see why anyone wouldn't like little Freddie but still...)**

**See you next chapter ****guys!**

**Luna**


	36. Chapter 36 - dedicated to hoaanle

WildVirus (guest): **Glad you liked the chapter, and yes, Odd is a good husband by the way he cheers Elsa up. D'aww, I love Odd... If only he was real and not a figment of my imagination, damn.**

_KLime (guest):_ **Nice to know that you read my replies :D Anyway, first off you mention that the villagers would have attacked Elsa by now since she's known to be dangerous, perhaps (and I didn't think of that) but then again she hasn't been hostile with them yet, they wouldn't want to provoke her. After all, if they attacked she could click her fingers and BAM! A beam of ice is through their heart. (Obviously Elsa wouldn't do that but they don't know that). Also nice to see someone recognising that Freddie's illness is serious, most people just want ****him to survive but don't think of possible consequences if he does. But I won't say any more!**

_Guest (guest, duh!): _**Glad you liked the chapter and the ElsaxOdd interaction! As for keeping Freddie alive... well, as much as I love you guys I can't promise anything...**

_hoannle:_ **Wow, well done! That must have been quite the challenge to read all of them! (Glad you're still with us though!) Hope you like these last few chapters (well, maybe about ten or so before it all ends...)**

_disneylover115:_ **Glad you liked the chapter, and hopefully they'll get to Corona with Freddie! (Hopefully, what am I saying, I have all the power!)**

_PeruvainInca_:** Hi! Well, we'll have to see, won't we?**

_Pabulover123:_ **You're right about Sadie, she is definitely being 'held back' as you put it, she would have once been perfectly normal but ever since the death of her children she has been left a shell of her former self. She's lost most of her sense of reality, she's childlike really. Also, you mentioned why Corona hasn't helped their allies yet-technically nothing has ****actually happened to Arendelle, as far as everyone knows all the royals were killed by wolves. They don't know that Hans and Ayla are actually involved etc, the whole world just thinks it was a tragic accident.**

_thorinii (guest):_ **Oh, good to know I haven't scared you off then :D I also liked your idea about Sadie referring to Ayla (I'm assuming) to get a magical cure for Freddie, that's certainly an interesting idea and it would definitely work****—Freddie wouldn't be ill afterwards... Wouldn't be breathing either... And haha, thanks for the compliment!**

* * *

Breakfast was a quiet affair, only Kristoff, Anna, Mia and Thomas actually sitting down to eat at all, what with the remaining adults having left the house and Kari refusing to awaken. As such, they ended up having an extremely generous sized meal each, or at least compared to what they'd gotten used to, anyway. It was not overly grand nor exciting—Thomas did moan that it was too bland at one point, even—but it was filling and, in contrast to their foods of recent, slightly flavoursome.

Elsa returned with Odd part way through the small picnic-esque meal looking both particularly bubbly and pale at the same time, her arm draped over her husband's shoulder gleefully while her eyes remained somewhat dull. She stumbled over to the sofa quietly, careful not to awaken her son—his eyes did flutter at one point but a small sprinkle of cooling snow soon settled him—and she beamed at her sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew sweetly.

"Morning!" She chimed, reaching for the last slice of bread before faltering and drawing back, dabbing at her mouth instead with an icy cloth. Blushing, her extra-pale skin showing off the pinkness even more strongly than usual, she turned away and muttered about having eaten earlier. Her stomach grumbled in response; she laughed it off and promised she would just get a larger lunch although she didn't want to overstep the mark. She was not back at home in the castle and had to remember that she had nothing with which to pay these people with—blackmail, of course, would be successful but Elsa wasn't the sort to stoop to such levels, especially since she knew her powers were genuinely dangerous and could actually do serious harm if she was provoked. She didn't want that.

"Someone's sprightly this morning." Anna remarked, grinning—it was so nice to see happiness for a change. Sure, there had been moments of joy, but Elsa's own glee was so strong it almost seemed to seep into the air in the room, giving everyone the blithe bug. "I'm guessing you had a good night's sleep?"

Elsa chortled quietly and shook her head, only just realising that her hair was still down; rearranging it into its usual messy plait with her powers she quickly amended her sister's statement. "It was pretty awful, actually. I had a nightmare at one point, as if I hadn't missed them in the last few days." Her expression darkened slightly at her own sarcastic comment and she rolled her eyes; hastily recognising the sudden change in the room's atmosphere, she immediately adopted a gayer look to keep things pleasant.

"Oh, no!" Mia cried, pushing herself forwards and looking at her aunt sympathetically; Lord knows she had enough nightmares as well to understand their true significance, to appreciate their ability to thoroughly destroy a person's confidence and leave them a trembling mess. Even now she still had the odd dream which ended with a familiar set of piercing eyes, the slash of a sword... Shaking the thoughts away as she felt herself being drawn down into a familiar trap she muttered, her voice suddenly trembly, "What was it about?"

Elsa's heart thudded faster in panic as her niece asked such a question but knew it would do no good to keep all the pain to herself. A problem shared was a problem halved, after all. "Do you remember when you were younger when you and Uncle Odd were taken to the Southern Isles?" She asked in as gentle a voice as she could muster, trying not to bring up too many harsh memories; both Mia and Odd stiffened uncomfortably, however, at the reminder, and the girl's nod of affirmation was slow and forced. Thomas just looked on in confusion, not understanding why his sister and uncle had been to the Southern Isles, of all places. Weren't they evil?

"Y-Yes, why?"

Kristoff reached over to his daughter and pulled her closer as he noticed her discomfort and Thomas scooted closer too, feeling left out. Anna's heart lifted as she saw her husband and children and cuddled into his side as well, resting her cheek on his shoulder while smiling at her sister to continue.

"Well, when you were there a man, a really mean man, pretended to be your uncle. He... He did some mean things to me. I dreamt that he came back to hurt me again. That's all."

Mia's blue eyes were soft. "Oh, Auntie Elsa. Don't worry, it's okay." Shakily she rose to her feet and walked softly over, a reassuring smile on her face though she was obviously feeling weak herself. Wrapping her arms around Elsa, she buried her face into the tiny bump and squeezed gently. "Don't worry about it, Auntie. It's not real."

Elsa, not really that bothered anymore—though the memories of what Dagvin had done still pained her deeply—smiled at her niece and wrapped her own arm around her, patting her back in an appreciative way and relishing in the feel of the child resting against her now-welcome bump. "Thanks, Mi." She said before pushing her away with soft force, then standing and walking over to the window. "We can't stay here long, just a day or so. I think we ought to try to get some food today, maybe see if we can show these people that we are—well, maybe I ought to say that I am—not so bad."

Kristoff huffed as he shifted in his seat. "Yeah, good luck with that. They seem to hate all of our guts, especially yours."

Elsa sighed and nodded in reluctant acceptance, knowing full well that what Kristoff said was true. Anna, wishing she could do more to help her sister, offered but a few words of help. "Well, you could possibly offer them some sort of snow room—or something—to keep their food fresh, I bet that would help. They'd like that, I reckon. But... well, I doubt it would make up for everything they think you've done. And they hate me too—they think I sent Mi to be... well, you know what I mean." The word 'tortured' wouldn't quite find its way out of her mouth although even if she could bring herself to say it, Anna didn't want Thomas to wonder.

"That's just sick." Elsa spat in disgust, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. "What sort of mother would do that? These lies Hans and that wi-no, Ayla, are spreading, they're just barbaric." Her smile turned into a grimace and her eyes became steely as she glared into thin air but her heart ached as well—she'd almost called Ayla a witch, the exact same sort of person that she had been branded as. She didn't want to give herself any more excuse to feel like dirt; she didn't want to associate herself with that monster.

Anna's head bobbed up and down and she mimicked her sister's expression, blood boiling at the accusations. She would never—could never—do such a thing."Agreed," she bit out and the tension in the room skyrocketed. As her breathing quickened she found herself standing soon after, unable to simply sit on the floor as her frustration reached its peak. In her head, brilliantly wicked thoughts were coming to her, all of the different ways she could slowly hurt those two beasts for what they'd done, not just to her, or to Mia, but to _everyone_. She could tie them to a wall by their wrists, could deprive them of water and then place a bowl, ever so sweet, just out of their reach. To see them struggling to lap up the liquid like the animals they were... It would be so fulfilling...

A soft hand tentatively reached out and tugged at the skirt of Anna's somewhat tattered dress—she'd really have to see if she could get a new one here somehow though she had nothing to trade for it—and Thomas looked up at his mother with large chocolatey eyes, his brown furrowed slightly.

"Mama? Mama, you okay?"

Anna stopped her fantasising and mentally reprimanded herself, slightly horrified that she could have such contemptible thoughts... Still, it would be an almost satisfying revenge...

_No! No, not again. _She smiled at her son and pulled him closer into a one-armed hug, patting his back and nodding. "Yeah, I'm 'kay Tom, don't worry. Just thinking, that's all."

"Oh, okay then Mama!" He chirped and scampered back to his father, wrapping his arms around Kristoff's neck and clambering up onto his back as a little monkey would, giggling all the while. Anna beamed at her mischievous son and giggled slightly before quietening for a short while. Deciding not long after that it was much too silent, however, she walked over to her sister and grabbed her wrist, hoisting her up from the sofa and onto her feet.

"Well, I'm bored. Elsa and I are gonna go out and take a peek around, I might see if anyone would be willing to make me a dress... Or at least fix this one."

Elsa raised her eyebrows and pulled her arm away from Anna. "I'm coming with you, am I now?" She asked in a harsh voice which made the princess' eyes begin to shine with tears; Elsa only laughed and gently pushed her sister's shoulder, highly amused. "Oh, come on, Anna. Do you really think I'd make you go on your own? What sort of sister do you take me for?"

"A tease, that's what." Anna countered but she'd regained her joyous mood thankfully. Skipping over to the front door—and knocking a vase in the process which was only saved by Elsa's powers—she waited impatiently, tapping her foot and grinning in a disconcertingly similar manner to a madwoman. "Come on, Elsa! Oh, and you can come as well, Mi—can't have you left here with a house full of boys. How horrible!"

Mia raised her eyebrows and rolled her eyes. "Kari's here as well, Mama." She reminded and Anna laughed.

"Yeah, but she's not going to get up anytime soon, is she? Besides, she's quite a tomboy, isn't she?"

Elsa giggled at her sister as she shook her head. "You're just a big kid, you know that? Even Mi's more serious than you. No one would guess you're a full-grown adult by your mannerisms." Elsa spoke with sisterly affection before she turned back to her husband, giving him an 'I love you so much' smile which could only suggest that she was after something. Odd chuckled in response as he slouched back into the sofa, though he did momentarily stiffen as poor little Fredrik coughed.

"Go on, go have some fun, you three. Me and Kristoff'll stay here and watch Freddie."

Elsa beamed and bent down, correcting under her breath, "Kristoff and I," to Odd quickly as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a huge embrace which, accidentally, also allowed his hand to brush that tiny baby bump ever so gently. Pulling back, she kissed his cheek quickly and then rushed over to join her sister, thankfully managing to get there without any accidents.

"See you!" Anna called eagerly as she grabbed her sister's and daughter's wrist and yanked them both out of the door; chuckling heartily, Odd turned to his brother-in-law and grinned, an impish look in his bright green eyes.

"You are probably the maddest man I know to put up with that one." He said impudently.

"I can't argue with that," Kristoff admitted with a snicker, "but hey, what choice do I have? That girl can pack a decent punch—she's terrifying at times!"

Odd laughed in agreement at the comment, replying, "Point taken. She can definitely hold her own."

Kristoff nodded before pausing, his eyes widening slightly and he bit his lip, turning his head to look at Thomas with a playful expression. "Hey, don't tell your Mama that I said that—she'd tell me off!"

Thomas laughed and nodded before sliding off of his father's back, running back into the bedroom and continuing to shriek gleefully. Kristoff considered telling him to be quiet for a second then quickly dismissed the thought; boys would be boys, after all. Kari didn't really need a lie in anyway.

* * *

It transpired that there was a grand total of zero official shops—minus a small farm store from which people gathered rations of food, given out for free—in the entire village. According to one small girl, who had talked willingly to the royals before she'd been dragged away by her extremely apologetic mother, they simply traded goods with each other and did not use money (or so Anna had assumed—when they mentioned the topic of cash she looked at them with a blank expression). Everyone simply traded from the comfort of their own dainty homes, the farrier fitting the baker's horse's shoes in exchange for a week's worth of bread and so on. From what the scared mother had squeaked before she'd ran off, the farm was also a communal project with everyone helping out every other day or so on a rota, thus entitling everyone to a share of the food.

Elsa's heart leadened at this realisation; the food which she'd been given yesterday and the rest which she'd missed out on must have all been from Sadie and Ole's personal rations. As if the latter didn't hate them enough as it was thanks to her dear husband.

"So, what first?" Anna prompted, kicking her foot in the dust a little unsurely, "I mean, we don't know who makes what here and we can't really go knocking on every single door to find out..."

"That's true, Auntie." Mia piped up, hands held shyly behind her back. She didn't like being the focus of so much attention by the villagers, even if she should have been used to it as a princess. Still, old habits die hard and for her, watchful eyes could easily mean danger; Mia was extremely paranoid like that. Even now, six years after her experiences as a child, she was still a wreck and probably would be forever more.

"Well, I did consider what you said earlier, Anna, about helping out with chilling the village's food. I was thinking that maybe, if we went to the leader of this place and asked, he or she might agree that it would be an invaluable addition. After that, surely the people would be indebted to us, thus meaning we could trade with them?" Her words were filled with hope and joy, seemingly thinking that it would be impossible for her plan to fail. Anna couldn't really argue with that reasoning, although there was the small issue that people could still refuse to help her.

"Yeah, I suppose." She muttered, rubbing the back of her head, "Now if only we could actually get someone to get over here and give us a hand... You don't know where the, ah, mayor's house is, do you? Or, whatever they call the person running this place. It's not a city, would they have a mayor? Maybe a committee or something... You ought to know, Elsa!"

"Well, back home villages are run by landlords... I'm not sure about here, though. My guess would be that there's no actual leader, rather someone people just look up to."

"Damn. That makes life harder." Anna mumbled grouchily, before turning to Mia and apologising for swearing—the young girl glared at her mother in response though a small smile graced her pretty face. She would have been much cuter if she'd still had her chubby cheeks, of course, but after being fed such meagre portions for almost a month she hadn't really put much weight back on yet. She wasn't as skinny as she had been, but still...

"Dronning Elsa?"

The danish voice was cold and had an almost metallic edge which gave the obvious impression of bitterness. It's sudden emergence made the royals startle, Mia reacting most of all and she quickly hid partially behind her mother's legs as she so often did, peering out bravely. The sisters, too, felt nervous in his presence; though he wasn't one of Arne's men—he wasn't nearly buff enough, though the height was similar to —his voice was eerily similar to one they both vaguely recalled hearing amidst the confusion and sheer terror of when they were taken advantage of. Anna quickly wrapped her arm around Mia protectively and gripped Elsa's hand tightly as she tried not to appear intimidated, instead noting how good-looking he was—surely someone so handsome couldn't be evil?

Memories of Hans with a sword drawn over her sister quickly made her reevaluate that thought.

The man glared at Anna and Elsa respectively, his captivating amber eyes cold and full of loathing, before he turned his glare on Mia and his gaze softened. He walked closer slowly and stopped about a metre away then bent down, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small muslin cloth, held together in the shape of a bag. Opening it on his palm, he revealed a large handful of a crushed up substance, fairly bright in colour.

"Hej, lille prinsesse." He said, the voice still similar to that of one of Arne's cronies yet with a softer tone which made it more bearable. Seeing her skeptical look as she backed up further he spoke again. "De er hårdt kogt slik."

Mia looked up at her mother with confused eyes, not sure whether the man was being nice or was trying to poison her. Anna shrugged, unable to translate and she turned to her sister for help; Elsa sighed as she repeated what had been said in Norwegian rather than Danish. "He said that they're sweets."

Mia's eyes shined a little more as she began to step forwards before jerking to a stop, remembering that the man was a stranger and she didn't know if he could be trusted; looking up to Anna she murmured, "What do I do?" shyly and Anna smiled confidently, gently pushing her forwards. Still, she kept a watchful eye on the person who pushed his palm forwards, gesturing for the princess to take one. Mia did so nervously, reaching out slowly before clasping her fingers around a few shards and then rapidly snatching her hand back, eyeing him carefully as she nibbled at one of the pieces. Her face lit up at the taste and she quickly began to scoff the remaining shards, sighing and licking her fingers once they'd gone.

"De er rart, ja?" The man asked gently and Mia frowned, shaking her head slowly.

"I don't know..." She whimpered, looking down at the floor in shame; Anna hastily translated for her to help relieve her guilt and Mia grew slightly more confident as she replied, "Yes. Um... Ja."

Anna beamed at her daughter, asking softly, "Where did you learn that?"

Mia smiled back bashfully, a small blush on her cheeks at her mother's evident praising of her. "I figured it out." She then turned back to the man and opened her palm, a small ice model materialising there, much to his shock (and slight horror at first). She toddled forwards with stiff movements and passed the item to him, having to use her powers to carry it the last twenty-five centimetres as she lost her nerve; the man smiled nervously when he saw what she had given to him—a small icy heart by way of thanks—and he stood up, again glaring at the two royal sisters.

"Kom til mit hjem senere." He said in the chilling voice he'd used before, "Du kan få nogle flere slik til barnet."

"Thank you. Tak hr." Elsa said in response, trying to smile and ignore the cries of her mind to run away. Instead she rubbed the back of her neck uncomfortably and asked, feeling a little guilty, if the man had any Turkish Delight for Mia. It was her favourite, after all. "Jeg mener ikke at lyde uhøflig, men hvis du har nogen tyrkiske glæde, min niece elsker det."

"Nej. Desværre jeg løb ud." The man replied in a bitter tone to Elsa's words and then turned to leave, water dripping from his palm as the ice melted. "Mit navn er Lucas. Spørg efter mig." He stayed for a second or two before walking off, his posture stiff and untrusting.

"Sorry, Mi. He doesn't have any turkish delight." Anna said gently and the young girl sighed before shrugging slightly.

"Ah, well. I don't mind."

Elsa laughed quietly and blew a small breeze of snow towards her niece, something which, as a babe, had always made her happy; it did lift her spirits now as well.

"Come on, then. We need to work out how to get an ice room for this place. Then maybe we'll be able to pick up a few things, huh? Maybe..." She paused with a cheeky grin. "Maybe we could even try to find the ingredients to make you some turkish delight, hmm?"

"OK!"

* * *

_Turkish delight... so that's what she likes, huh? _The boy watched the women quietly, assessing them. They didn't appear all that different to anyone else, really, other than the obvious powers possessed by the two blondes, yet they were, supposedly, downright heinous.

Seth shook his head and sighed before closing his eyes and concentrating. Time for a bit of infiltration into enemy lines.

* * *

"Woah, easy boy." Odd soothed as he slowed his stallion down to a gentle walk after having galloped through the uneven terrain of the forest for the last few minutes, leaving Kristoff back at Sadie's house with Ole and the kids. Brandy Shot's sides were wet with sweat despite the polar temperatures and his breathing was heavy, yet the run had done him good; he still danced about, eager, and his ears were kept forwards, not at all tired nor frustrated. Odd, however, wasn't quite ready to let him continue—no, he had spotted something.

Dismounting off of Brandy and tying the reins to a nearby tree, he walked over to the shoreline and bent down, studying the debris on the sand. Much was still floating a little way out to sea but some had beached already; picking up a large plank of wood and turning it over, Odd immediately recognised it as the remains of the sunken Southern Isles ship which had been on the way to deliver supplies.

He immediately realised how lucky they were; if the ship had arrived here before they had, the people would have already been told that the royals were dead. That wouldn't do much for trust at all.

Thinking for a moment, Odd continued scavenging through the debris, even uncovering a plank with a semi-dry calendar still attached. Assuming that the days were crossed off each night, it was February the twenty-ninth today.

"Huh." Odd grunted, "Happy birthday to me."

Continuing on as if he hadn't even realised—honestly he'd never had much time for celebrating anyway—a brilliant thought soon struck him. The family was easy to recognise in a boat of ice, but if said boat of ice was covered in wooden planks...

_Well, I may have just saved all of our lives._ He thought with bitter amusement. _That's a fairly decent birthday present, I guess._

Running back to Brandy and untying him, Odd leapt onto his back and kicked him forwards. "Come on, then, boy. Let's go share the good news."

* * *

Seth swallowed in fear as he gripped a small box which was held tightly in his hands for strength. His blood pounded in his ears and he felt his legs shaking, but he knew it was now or never.

Pushing through the bush he'd been hiding behind—and quickly realising it would have been easier to just walk around it—Seth brushed himself off and stood tall and proud as he had been taught was proper for a prince, fighting the urge to camouflage himself; coughing under his breath and muttering, "E-excuse me?" in Norwegian in a timid voice, he succeeded in getting the royals' attention. The young girl–Mia, he recalled was her name—seemed terrified when his bright greeny-blue eyes met hers and she squeaked, looking away in... Was that fear? How odd.

Stepping forwards, the taller woman—the wicked Queen Elsa—bent down and smiled at him warmly. It was a genuine expression, the likes of which he didn't usually see; Ayla was always so busy, perhaps so stressed, that she didn't have much time for him. He understood that; she had done so much for him as it was.

"Hey, there." She muttered in Norwegian before recognising her mistake, but it didn't affect Seth. He'd been taught the basics in case he was ever needed to rule the kingdom when people eventually realised this woman was unfit to even be classed as human, let alone a monarch.

"H-hello." He stammered shyly before turning to Mia and removing the lid to the box. He didn't like Turkish delight himself but he had to admit, these smelled good. And so they should; they had been freshly made in one of the confectionary shops back in the mainland. "You would... You would like a Turkish delight?"

Pushing the box forwards towards Mia, he placed it down on the ground to allow her to shuffle forwards and take one tentatively. She cautiously tested the edge before digging in, in sheer bliss. Anna and Elsa both sat down, also; neither woman had any, with Elsa suddenly hating the very concept and Anna never having been a fan, but the kid's company was nice.

Seth, unbeknownst to them, was judging them all the while.

_No, these people don't seem evil at all. Come to think of it, in comparison, Ayla and Hans seem a little mean... _Seth quickly bit his cheek in reprimand at the thought._ Oh, don't be ridiculous! They love me, they just don't ave time. That's all._

_That's all._

* * *

**As it turns out, 1848 was actually a leap year so I really couldn't resist Odd's birthday being on February 29th! I had to!**

**Hope you liked the chapter, it was especially long (surely long enough to deserve two seconds of your time to write a five word review?)**

**Also, I'm ten minutes late now, sorry, I'm sure it won't kill you guys though. I'd appreciate if you could point out any mistakes, though, so I can fix them!**

**Luna**


	37. Chapter 37-dedicated to ElsaAnnaforLife

_KLime_: **Haha, yeah, Seth is definitely a bit puzzled, especially when it comes to Elsa. For someone so evil she's actually pretty nice xD Sorry for the abrupt entrance as you call it, let me explain how he found them so quickly though: the royals have already been on the island a day and Ayla knew that they were in the area, so she would have had Seth teleporting to all the different islands around the Southern Isles during the day. This island would probably have been the second or third he visited, so he would have had some misfortune before he found them. **

_PeruvianInca: _**Thanks!**

_hoaanle:_ **Glad you like Seth, he's quite a complex character so I really like him. **

_disneylover115: _**Yep, you're spot on!**

_thorinii (guest):_ **Haha, yeah things have been a bit slow but I'm hoping to get ****things moving forwards soon. The fic just isn't popular enough to keep it going for loads longer anymore :( As for how far through the story we are, I'm not quite sure. Might try to aim for 45 or 50 ish chapters, plus a short epilogue.**

_Pabulover123:_ **I'm glad you liked the chapter especially the birthday scene (well, kinda). I'd been planning to write it for ages and kept forgetting! And yes, I hope I'll be able to show the different parenting styles well enough for Seth to realise that maybe Hans and Ayla aren't quite the saints he thinks they are.**

_WildVirus (guest): _**Glad you liked it!**

_asome (guest):_ **Nope, only ten minutes late not three days, you just saw the update late xD And don't worry about not reviewing, glad you're back!**

_ElsaAnnaforlife: _**First off, for the length of the book I expect about ten to fifteen more chapters before it's all over. I'm hoping not to drag it out for too long... Anyway, I'm glad you like Seth and Mia, I agree that they're cute together! As for posting on wattpad... well, maybe one day but I tried before and it got virtually no response sadly so I deleted it. Anyway, unlucky about going back to school and I sincerely hope you weren't too tired!**

_spartandestroyr:_ **You may be onto something with your comment about Seth... ;) And personally I'm not much of an Elsanna fan but I can do beta work if you'd like me to**

* * *

"So... You are called Mia?" Seth asked in as confident a voice as he could muster, struggling to speak in a language other than his first and fiddling with the dirt uncomfortably and experimenting in making it camouflaged. Mia didn't notice this; she was busy looking away from the boy with eyes which were a perfect blend of the two pairs which haunted her nightmares. Anna and Elsa had since left to speak to Ole about getting an ice room for the village, as he had, by now, come back to his home—he was rather unwilling to cooperate but he was also the only person the royals really knew. As such, Mia and Seth had been left to play outside. "Hello? You understand me?"

"Yes. My name is Mia. Princess Mia of Arendelle."

Seth smiled at the confirmation and, sprinkling the now camouflaged dirt on the ground, he shuffled around to try to get into his companion's range of vision. "It is a nice name. It is pretty." Mia looked further away from him though a faint blush graced her cheeks. It was progress, if slow. "My name is Seth."

"Seth?" Mia prompted, frowning, and she continued to look away, her fingers getting an icy coating; she recognised this quickly and thawed it with the knowledge of her family's love. "There was an Egyptian God called Seth once."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. He was the God of chaos and a killer."

Seth's heart sunk as he heard Mia although he was unable to understand her words completely. Nonetheless he instantly realised that her opinion had probably just rocketed even lower. "My mama, she says it is nice. It means choosed one."

"Chosen one. Not choosed." Mia scowled at the boy's lack of knowledge for her language and turned away even more although she knew it wasn't really Seth's fault. He wasn't from Norway, after all, but she still frowned upon it. "You don't speak my language, do you?"

"No."

A silence descended once more upon the pair and Seth desperately searched for something meaningful to say. He wanted to break the ice and try to get her to warm up to him but to do that, he needed to actually know what the problem was; to straight out ask what she disliked about him seemed a little abrupt but he soon realised he had no choice. "You do not like me." He said slowly, a saddened expression on his face; Mia looked towards him at the unexpected comment but quickly jerked her head back once more. Just to look into those eyes was painful.

"No. You scare me."

Seth's eyebrows raised before he frowned, not quite understanding. "Why? I have said something wrong?"

"No."

"What is wrong then? I like you, you're fun, but you do not like me. I wish you would tell why. I do not want to be a scare."

Mia fought the urge to correct his sentence and instead replied shakily, "Your eyes. They're the same as the ones I get in my nightmares. Your eyes are evil to me."

"Oh..." Seth hung his head and small tears formed; why was it that no matter how hard he tried, he was never good enough? There was always something wrong. Hans and Ayla always called Queen Elsa—this sweet girl's aunt, he reminded himself—a wicked person, not even worthy of the title 'human', yet perhaps it was he who was the pathetic excuse? "I am sorry... I go now."

Mia inhaled suddenly and she quickly stood up as Seth rose to leave; he turned back and looked at her with those terrifying—yet beautiful at the same time—blue-green eyes and watched inquisitively. "You don't have to go." She whispered, looking down at the ground; as much as she hated the boy, there was one thing which spiked her curiosity: his own lack of self-confidence and the way he seemed to blame himself for things which were not his fault. No normal child would behave like that, but Mia knew exactly how it felt and as such she suddenly felt less afraid. As if he wasn't the threat but just another victim of cruelty.

"Really? I can stay?" Seth's eyes lit up at that moment, his posture less slackened and his whole body appeared somehow more defined, as if he had been fading. Quickly remembering that people didn't just disappear, Mia chided herself for letting her imagination get the best of her.

"Yes. But I don't trust you." She replied and she watched warily as Seth's face fell before it lit up again.

"Okay, that is okay. I will get you trust me." He grinned eagerly and walked closer to Mia who quickly stumbled backwards. "So, how I can help you?"

Mia thought for a second before a tiny smile appeared on her face. Still looking anywhere other than at the boy, she said, "I'd love some more Turkish delight, if you could get any?"

"Yes, Ma'am!" Seth cried with a laugh and he raised his hand in a salute before bowing in a comical little way and then scampering off, jumping behind a bush with a squeal. Mia frowned at his odd behaviour and rushed after, peering over the bush to find... No one?

Immediately becoming slightly more suspicious she glanced around herself warily, holding her hands out in fear but no attack came; once she was certain that the only person in the current area was herself she walked back to the house cautiously. Sparing one final glance around, she hurried back inside Ole and Sadie's house.

* * *

Seth knocked timidly at the door to Hans and Ayla's room, listening with much curiosity to the sounds coming from within. Quiet grunts and moans, seemingly pleasured sounds, reached his young ears and he frowned, his hand resting on the doorknob and ready to turn it open. He paused as the sounds grew louder—were they moving something heavy around?—and decided to wait until they had finished. He wasn't keen on getting a spanking at the hands of his 'adopted' father and mother if he just walked in.

Sitting down on the floor as he listened silently, waiting for the odd sounds to cease, Seth experimented idly with his powers, turning parts of his body camouflaged just to see the amusing sight. He teleported into the kitchen at one point when he realised that Hans and Ayla were not going to stop being busy doing... Whatever it was that was keeping them occupied for a while yet. He snuck around quietly, making sure to keep himself camouflaged (something which did prove a little tricky when he was moving so much) and managed to snag a small handful of freshly-made melated chocolate from a large bowl before one of the kitchen staff returned and he hastily popped away.

Returning to the corridor outside Ayla and Hans' room—the noises were much louder and more frequent now—Seth sat down on the floor quickly and began burying his face in his palms. Eagerly licking at the runny chocolate as a puppy would he closed his eyes at the exquisite taste which he was so rarely allowed and sighed; once most of the treat was gone, all that was left being the remnants on his skin, he hastened to clean it off before licking his lips, relishing in the extra deliciousness that had gathered on his face.

A loud masculine grunt sounded from within the room and Seth looked up quickly, wondering what was wrong now—surely Hans must be trying to move the bed or something to be exerting himself so much?—and he stood up, deciding that it would be prudent to lend a hand. Abandoning his task of cleaning up his mucky face he moved once more towards the door and then realised that perhaps he'd be in trouble if he just barged in. Instead, he focused on camouflaging his body and then pictured the inside of the room, right in the corner, disappearing with a small pop and reappearing a moment later in the spot he'd imagined.

Yes, teleporting in camouflaged was a much better idea than opening the door.

The scene that met his eyes, however, was not what he had been expecting. Where he had prepared to witness his 'adopted' parents struggling to move some heavy object, he instead found them... Cuddling?

Seth's heart dropped as he watched the two laying with eachother on the bed, both naked for some reason or other, and seemingly engrossed in their company—Hans was laying on top with Ayla below, and neither seemed to be moving, just breathing heavily. His heart fell in jealousy, not understanding what had actually gone on and only knowing that the two adults were now hugging.

They never gave _him_ even a smidgen of the affection.

A small sob broke the near silence in the room and Hans and Ayla jolted upright quickly, looking about wildly. Seth immediately clasped a hand over his own mouth and tried to force back the tears but knew it was too late as his mother's eyes darted about the candlelit room, scathing and severe. He shrunk down in fear, a little mouse curling into a ball in the corner, and the movement directed her eyes onto his camouflaged body.

"Seth!" She shrieked, flicking her wrist and making clothes materialise on her and her consort, not that the boy was bothered by their nakedness anyway. She then stood up and stormed over to him, grabbing him by the scruff and pulling him towards her. "What are you doing in here? You know to knock first!"

Seth whimpered and looked up to Ayla with large, terrified eyes and he squirmed to get free before his powers flared up and he found himself teleporting a metre away. He watched her constantly, flinching when she so much as blinked. "I-I did knock. You... You didn't answer." He looked away in shame and a few small tears rolled down his cheeks; a delicate hand slapped his shoulder sharply and he let out an accidental yelp, stumbling backwards before hunching up.

"Stop whimpering, Seth. That is what pathetic people do, not princes, hmm." Ayla chided him harshly and Seth nodded mutely, wiping at his tears with his hand. He felt his mother touch his skin again —his cheek this time —and he automatically recoiled before realising she was just stroking him gently. "Good boy. Don't let me catch you crying again. Don't let me catch you snooping, either." Her words were harsh and held very little warmth in them; still, little was more than none and it reassured the young boy tenfold.

Seth smiled weakly and nodded. "Yes, Ayla." He replied in a shaking voice but his tears, at least, had ceased falling.

"Now, tell me _why_ you barged in as you did." There was the severe tone again. Seth mentally slapped himself for thinking Ayla would stay calm and patient with him—he knew a good mother and father, adopted or not, had to be cruel to be kind. He'd had that lesson drilled into him for years as a reason for his guardians' frequent berating of him; it was all for his own good, after all.

So then how come when Mia was scared her mother comforted her rather than scolded her? She had turned out perfectly fine, if a little shy. Seth's young mind was incapable of processing this new query and he instead tried to lay the thought to rest —it was surely a stupid doubt. Right?

"I... I wanted to tell you that I, ah, finded Elsa and her family." He said slowly, hoping that he'd done well; still, it had taken him a day or so and he feared that he might have been too slow for any praise. Seeing Ayla's disapproving face he originally felt terrified that his concerns were true.

"I found, Seth. Not finded." Ayla reminded coldly, looking thoroughly displeased, until her face lit up when a millisecond later. "So, you know where they are? Where?"

"On a little island, Ayla. With a little village and a little farm and a cute little well in the middle." He smiled slightly at the memory of the amazing place, especially the strange royals who were visiting there. They didn't seem so bad but, as Hans had warned him, those people were very deceptive and were surely just trying to lure him into their trap. He shuddered at the thought. "The royals, I spoke to them. They like me, I gave them some Turkish Delight. The little girl, Mia, really likes it."

Ayla's eyes darkened at the mention of the name and Hans got up to join her, having previously avoided his son like the plague. He was perfectly content sitting at the sidelines, but now things were interesting.

"Make sure you keep an eye on those wicked people, Seth." He warned in his icy voice. "They may seem nice but they will kill you as soon as they get the chance."

"W-what?"

"Don't interrupt." Hans' tone was cold and he slapped Seth's cheek fairly hardly, making the boy mutter a hastily apology. "Better. Now listen, this is important. See if you can gain their trust and then reveal your abilities to them. Don't tell them that you are living here, they will kill you if you do. Don't even say you're a prince, got it?" Seth nodded mutely, feeling dumbstruck —why was Hans making him deal with people who wanted to kill him? He hoped there was a good reason, a good back-up plan too. "Well, we can't attack them on the island or we could hurt our own people. We have to wait for them to build a new boat and leave, then you can teleport on and off of the thing, tell us where they are and we can attack them and save all of our people from those wicked monsters. It can hardly fail."

Seth nodded once more before standing unsteadily. "They have to go soon, one of the little princes is really sick."

Hans and Ayla grinned in synchronisation, both looking like it was christmas come early. "Good." Hans finished, fangs glinting in the red candlelight. "Go on, go back and earn their trust. And once you do that, we can attack."

Seth gulped visibly but agreed all the same, muttering good bye before teleporting into town to get some turkish delight and then back to the village to deliver it to his new friend —the first friend he'd ever really had.

Once you do that, we can attack. Those words replayed over and over in Seth's mind, making him feel weak at the knees. If these people were monsters then they had to go, sure, but they really didn't seem that bad.

But if Ayla and Hans said they were then it had to true. After all, they were extremely trustworthy — when had they ever let him down?

* * *

**Damn, a bit late but oh well. I hope you liked it anyway! Things will be moving on quicker from this point, there will be much less slice-of-life scenes, so prepare yourself!**

**Anyway, thanks for the extra support last chapter, it means a lot! Big shoutout to anniGirl93 (anniArtist93 on DeviantArt****) who did an amazing artwork of my OC!  
**

**See you soon!**

**Luna**


	38. Chapter 38 - dedicated to blackknght

_disneylover115_: **Thanks**!

_Pabulover123_: **I'm glad you liked it and yes, I agree how bad it is that Ayla and Hans are abusing Seth's trust.**

_KLime (guest): _**I'm glad you liked this chapter! You make a good point about how Ayla and Hans were more lenient this time, honestly though they both appreciate that since Seth is actually mingling with the enemy they can't afford to scare him too much. Besides they were, as you say, in a good mood (Danish Delight indeed!) since their brat of a child actually did something right for ****once! **

_spartandestroyr:_ **Glad you liked it! (And it's Arendelle, one r not two!)**

_WildVirus (guest):_ **Yep, Seth has the worst timing ever.**

_anniGirl93:_ **Oh thank god, thought you'd disappeared! I knew you were busy but still, I did get worried xD Anyway, yeah I sort of think of TLK with Seth and Mia's relationship, I'm not basing it on that but I realised after that it is similar. And there's three years between them at this age it's a bit of a gap but when they're older... Who knows? But you did sound kinda cheesy then... Still though, anime's cool!**

_blackknght: _**(Chapter 32) I'm glad I intrigued you, yes Sadie is a little weird isn't she? And I'm guessing you mean "things will turn around quickly" not "tongs will turn around quickly"? (Chapter 33) I didn't consider how well things are going for Hans and Ayla at the moment, but then they do make an excellent pair. They're both ruthless and good at strategising as well so at least for a bit they'll be alright. As for the royals making it to Corona... don't worry, they'll get there. Alive or dead, though, I can't guarantee. (Chapter 34) Aww, I'm sad to hear just how stressed you've been, I hope things start looking up! And yes, it does suck that Elsa's got the awful memories still, although with everything going on now they are, in some ways, a touch more pleasant than current events. But when combined with her mental state now... yeah, it's not good. (Chapter 35) Yes, Freddie is in serious danger right now, but I'm glad you liked the chapter.**

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Freddie moaned as he held his father's hand, nausea flaring up and preventing him from getting a wink more sleep. His skin was pale as Olaf's, perhaps even more so—the snowman's cheery personality always made him seem more rosy—and he was shaking violently. His breathing came in short, ragged gasps and tears rolled down his face, mixing with the thick layer of sweat on his skin.

Ole entered the room at that moment, hands covered in a thin coating of brown fur. His eyes narrowed as he noticed Odd and the right corner of his lip curled slightly in disgust and hatred as he nodded curtly at him. It was an extremely forced action and not respectful in the slightest, but as much as Ole did not like it the man was still a prince—even if he, as Kristoff, had been born a commoner—and as such was superior in social standing, despite the fact that his authority was much lesser in a kingdom other than his, or more accurately his wife's, own.

Quickly turning away as if looking at Odd burned his eyes, Ole instead looked at Kristoff and gave a slightly more enthusiastic nod to him; all of the Arendelle royals were abhorred on the island but the latter prince, at least, had not been outright vicious. Odd, for one, was both amazed and extremely grateful that his victim had not mentioned anything to anyone else; the family's reputation surely could not bear another blow even if the attack had just been defensive.

"Hello," he greeted stiffly before smiling at Mia and the twins who had since returned to the room with a soft but pained expression. Thomas, as usual, was looking fairly cheerful as he fiddled with a small and somewhat poorly carved chess piece—a pawn—as he attempted to work out how to play whilst Mia sat cross-legged at the other side, a small and confident smirk on her face. Kari was sat with her mother a little way off, complaining heatedly about her wicked brother and Anna, in response, nodded with a sarcastic murmur and an amused look on her face as she listened fondly.

Ole faltered briefly, noticing the princess' interactions with her youngest daughter; rather than looking forced, she seemed genuinely happy in the child's company. Strange actions for someone who was meant to be truly evil, someone who'd had her toddler tortured without any remorse.

"Oh, hello." Elsa, who had just returned to the room looking slightly more blanched than usual with an almost indiscernible green tint in her skin, said in a nervous voice, looking a little edgy in his company. "I hope your morning has been okay so far?"

Ole nodded tightly. "I went to see your animals. They are all okay, I have let them out to graze. I gave the wolf a few bones too but if he's hungry you'd better let him hunt something. We don't have enough food spare to feed him also."

"I see." Elsa said with a frown, looking a little concerned as was her sister. Seier was no small creature.

"Hey, one sec!" Anna piped up as Ole began to leave, heading out into the back garden to tend his chickens. "You say you don't have enough spare food but what if you could store it for longer? Would you have plenty then?"

"Pardon?"

"I mean, well, exactly what I said. If you could store food for longer would you have more to go around? I mean, if you could store more meat, say, then you could have more room to raise new animals? Same with crops, surely if you can harvest more in one go then you can get to growing more. Hmm?"

Ole scratched behind his ear gently and pondered what the princess had said. "As much as I do not like to take advice from people the likes of you, I can't deny that that's true. At least for the animals; I don't work on the crop side of the farm."

Anna's eyes glinted at the insult whilst Elsa stiffened uncomfortably and Odd and Kristoff glared. Seeing their immediate reactions Ole couldn't help but feel the smallest twinge of guilt but he kept it contained, maintaining his steely exterior. He wasn't sure what to believe in regards to the royals' innocence but he would certainly not give them the benefit of the doubt.

"Well, Elsa and I were talking earlier and we were _going_ to offer you better storage, but if you're going to take that tone..." Anna spoke with an evil I-told-you-so smirk and she watched Ole's reaction carefully, trying to determine whether her proposition would be greeted with interest. She ignored her sister's groaning and her exasperated cry of "Anna!" and continued to study the man. She kept up the act of studying him for just a few seconds before his stubbornness crumbled at the proposition.

"Forgive me, your Highness," he said slowly, the words forced and evidently painful for him, "but please understand my situation. We know nothing of your family except that you are heartless monsters and since you attacked our kingdom it is not hard to believe."

"We are the monsters, huh?" Anna scoffed, standing in anger and Elsa began to walk towards her to stop her from acting rashly. She couldn't get as much as a metre close before her sister stepped away; she would not be held back. "You may not like me saying it but sadly it's your beloved princess and her husband—the one who left me to die and tried to behead my sister, might I add—who are really the beasts. You think he's a changed man and you think she's nothing short of... Well, an angel." Her blue eyes glinted as she clenched her fists and turned away. "What sort of angel kidnaps a two year old child and has them tortured? Cause I'm not nearly a perfect princess, but I'm not as monstrous as _your_ princess either." With a sharp intake of air Anna tried desperately to keep herself as composed as possible (which, in the circumstances, was not overly successful); walking off quickly, she slammed the kitchen door in frustration, leaving all of the room's occupants speechless for a minute.

"I... I probably ought to go get her, I guess?" Kristoff mumbled a second later, standing himself and lightly pushing Kari to her sister's side, something which she did not appreciate; she was still grumpy from being awoken early and, since Mia was not playing with her, was not happy in her company.

Mia was perfect. She always followed the rules to the letter. Which meant that she was, quite simply, _boring_.

But then what younger sister wouldn't feel the same way? Kari was, though she'd never admit it, incredibly jealous of the older girl. Not only did she have magic—lucky thing—Mia could get away with murder, while she wasn't even allowed to leave a room looking like a small war zone; how rotten! It was no difficulty to decide who was the favourite and sometimes, usually when she did not get her own way, Kari wanted that extreme adoration too. It was not like she wasn't absolutely doted on by her parents, but still there was always something which made her family more sympathetic and less critical towards the older girl.

Of course, Kari didn't know of her sister's awful childhood. She could not even try to understand at her age. All she knew was that her big sister was miss Goody-two-shoes, who never put so much as a toe out of line and who was everything expected of a princess.

Plonking herself down and folding her arms grumpily, Kari glared at her sister in annoyance and jealousy, her round eyes—the same as her father's—half hidden by her frown. Kristoff chuckled and mussed up her hair fondly, an action which made the girl smile stiffly and sit a little taller to make the most of the affection, before he walked out to find his wife; once again Ole noted the authenticity of the actions. He hadn't noticed before—he'd been too busy avoiding the royals for the past day—but they really did seem like your average loving family.

Had they changed in the years since the young princess has been tortured? Surely not, at least not on such a scale; from heartless monsters to doting parents? In an ideal world, sure; hell, there wouldn't be any wickedness if everything was perfect! But, of course, this world was far from perfect—not even "slightly kind" would sum it up. It was a brutal place, there coils be no denying it; even in the happy times constant sadness would be lingering somewhere in the shadows. With new life would come death, just as with great prosperity would come much hard labour beforehand.

"Ole, sir?" Elsa's words were soft but somewhat shaky as she got his attention, fiddling with her fingers idly. She moved over to her husband and son's side as the man looked to her; she felt slightly vulnerable under his disapproving gaze.

"Don't call me sir. There's no reason to; you're a queen while I'm just a lowly farmer in a small Danish village."

Odd spoke next though with a rather bitter sounding tone. Talking with Ole was hardly his favourite task; still, he had a duty to try and make up with the man, for Elsa's sake at least. Being civil was just about the best he could do. "I didn't even have a job when I met Elsa. I'd lived in the forests of Arendelle my whole life. So really, you're less lowly than I was."

Ole shrugged. "Oh well. I'm not that bothered." He frowned before looking at Elsa, remembering Anna's words. "But I am interested in what your sister had to say. About the better storage for our food, I mean. I just... I can't really trust you. I'd like to trust you, deep, deep down I would. But I need more proof of your motives. Smiley faces and a gay attitude aren't much use when you're seen here as the human equivalent of Satan. And proof of your outrageous—and a little hurtful—claims about my own princess."

"Elsa was your princess before you left Arendelle." Odd pointed out snappily and was rewarded with a momentarily frozen hand as punishment. Clearly Elsa didn't approve of his tone and he really didn't want to upset her; he wasn't sure how much more stress she—and his tiny son or daughter, for that matter—could take. Still, he certainly was not going to cover up his anger at Ole, he'd surely burst if he tried. He'd just keep silent and glare from the sidelines; his tone of voice could hardly be hurtful then.

"I served your father, Queen Elsa. I have never served you, and I never shall. I don't mean any offence but you don't inspire a single ounce of loyalty in me at any rate." Ole huffed, folding his arms and looking away as if feeling shamed. "But I would still like to know more about your proposition."

"Oh, it's really quite simple. With my powers I can easily make a whole room filled with unmelting ice. One for each family, if so desired. That way your town would be able to store so much food without the worries of it going bad—if you wanted, I could even freeze your current supplies before I leave, which must be soon for my poor son will surely not last much longer and his only hope lays in Corona." Elsa spoke with as strong a voice as she could muster but she shook nonetheless. Ole watched on with curiosity—again, genuine actions on her part—while Odd wrapped her arm around his wife's shoulder and pulled her closer. She closed her eyes for a moment and tried to relax into the embrace; as his hand brushed over her (nearly healed) shoulder, however, she stiffened self-consciously and turned away, a guilty look gracing her gorgeous face. Odd pulled back immediately, realising what he had done—it was so easy to forget the horrors the poor woman had been through, partially as a result of his own in capability to protect her, in this almost idyllic place.

"Whatever is wrong, Queen?" Ole asked, feeling somewhat more confident; perhaps if she couldn't stand his touch then Elsa was afraid of Odd? That thought alone made him feel slightly smug—anything to get back at Odd with was good in his eyes. He did kick himself slightly at the harshness of that thought though a while later; if Elsa really was being abused by her husband then it was wrong of him to smile about it, whether it gave him more reason to hate the man or not.

"Oh, nothing, nothing." Elsa stumbled over her words quickly, looking down at the ground in shame. "Just an old wound, it's... Tender." She sighed and—much to Ole's annoyance—Odd offered her a hand which she accepted gratefully, squeezing for comfort. She breathed deeply for a few seconds before straightening herself up and smoothing back her partly fallen out hair, attempting to regain her composure. "But I'm not important here; what is important is whether your village wants the help which I can offer."

"Why would you do this? It is hard to trust you when there is surely a catch somewhere. Say we accepted your offer, how could we be sure you were not going to... Well, try anything? For all we know you could leave and the ice would... Well, come alive. I know you can do that much."

"Well, truth be told it's more of a deal than an offer. Right now, we have nothing to our name except for these tattered clothes upon our backs. Men under the orders of your princess Ayla and her consort made sure of that." She shivered slightly at the memories and thought darkly inside her head, _they took everything, including our dignity_. Trying not to break down again though**—**were her hormones beginning to affect her thinking already?**—**she continued. "However, we do not feel right to come here and simply demand help; this way, my sister and I were hoping we'd be able to get a few necessities from people in exchange."

"That is a lot to ask of people who trust you very little. I am quite possibly the most accepting here, besides my wife who doesn't understand friend and foe." Ole watched his guests with harsh eyes. His compassion towards them would not last long. "Unless you can prove that you are deserving of our trust by proving your outrageous claims?"

Elsa sighed, running her hands through her hair. She should have known that people here would be skeptical of her help. "I... I can't think of any easy way to prove things to you, Ole, sir." She said sorrowfully, her mind working at ten to the dozen to think of a solution but to no avail. There was a momentary silence.

Just as Ole was about to respond, Odd spoke up. "Well... I don't know how to fix the trust issue, but... There might be one way to prove our claims about Ayla and Hans."

"There is?" Elsa asked incredulously and Odd nodded, an incredibly remorseful and apologetic shine in his eyes. He wrapped his arm around her waist and let his hand fall on the small of her back; it took a few moments until Elsa winced in slight pain and then gasped in understanding.

The brand on her lower back. Two letters burned into her skin, claiming her as someone else's property. Marking the work and the abuse as their own.

SI.

The Southern Isles.

* * *

The reindeer bleated in pain as he struggled to move his heavy load, a massive log tied to his harness. Sweat made his matted and dirty coat stick to his sides and his torn up hooves left him limping and struggling even more, lame. He'd been at this for hours, dragging the wood to and from Arendelle castle in constant agony, his life consisting of nothing except endless torture.

Yelping as a whip cracked against his side, the reindeer tried desperately to move faster. Looking up at the sky tiredly, he let out a low moan and tried to ignore the burning pain in his hooves.

Wherever his buddy was, Sven could only hope that Kristoff was faring better than he. He wouldn't wish this sort of pain on anyone.

* * *

**Sorry it was late, thankfully not too late though! This was quite a dull chapter I know but things will start moving from here on in, give it a chapter or two and the royals will have left the island. Whether Freddie will survive, though... I can't promise anything at this stage, he's so sick...**

**And oh dear, Sven's still alive but he's not well...**

**Anywa, I've got to so I'll see you around!**

**Luna**


	39. Chapter 39 - dedicated to KLime (guest)

_disneylover115: _**Glad you liked it!**

_WildVirus (guest)_**: Ah, I'm sorry! It's the bad men hurting Sven, not me :"(**

_KLime (guest): _**Yep, Sven's back but perhaps not in a good way... As for other animals, there would be a couple of old, tired horses too but it would be a poor excuse for companionship; they'd all be about dead by the time they got back from hauling all the logs day in, day out (improvement works on Arendelle's defences... The advisor knows something is coming soon...). And thank you,cry the way, for making me smile at the thought of Danish 1840s villagers encased in ice for a century, as you say not nice for them but... Well, it is a little funny... Anyway, I'm glad you liked the Anna and Kari scenes (as you say, tidying up is always bad) and I hope you are satisfied with how much Elsa and Odd will reveal. (Also good to know you appreciated the Olaf reference, I want to include him in the story so badly but it' seen so long without him that I can't think of a justifiable excuse to bring him back right now unfortunately).**

_cocogirlisloco (guest): _**Wow, I'm glad you like the fic so much! Honestly I'd love if Disney could make it into frozen 2... sadly I doubt it'd be rated PG still though so that'd never happen. Ah well, at least I can still dream xD**

_anniGirl93:_ **Yeah, Elsa's got it tough. But at least Anna has enough spunk to stand up for them all... And yes, Sven is still with us, his life's hardly fun though...**

_Pabulover123:_ **Yep, there's a little hope for both Ole and Sven, but nothing's guaranteed anymore... After all, there will be fighting and as much as it will hurt me someone will have to get hurt :( But if they'll survive the fighting... Well, they're a close knit family and they'll always be there for each other.**

* * *

Ole sat patiently in the lounge, waiting with much interest for Elsa and Odd—who had left to discuss something a minute ago, perhaps to decide on their story—to return. He twiddled his thumbs and hummed a tune under his breath, glancing up at the children with an almost longing expression every now and then to check they were alright. He had tried to make conversation with Mia once or twice but that proved near fruitless; still, he was determined to try to work out this family's secrets.

"So, your Highness..." He began, trying not to sound too intrusive. "What are your family like? Your parents?"

"I love my whole family." Mia replied unsurely and she moved her queen chess piece. She shook her head when Thomas tried to make an incorrect move and he groaned in frustration before studying the board desperately. "My Mama and Papa, and my Uncle and Auntie... They're all really nice. They put up with me being so... Timid."

"Why are you timid, Sweetie?" Ole urged, certain he'd hear the answers he wanted from the eight year old princess. She did not give him exactly what he was after, though.

"I... I had a bad time when I was smaller. I was kidnapped and... Hurt. But I don't want to talk about it." She looked down at the ground and winced as she saw Seth's pretty face with those captivating but terrifying eyes and cute chubby cheeks in her mind. "But I am a bit better now. My Mama and Papa helped me a lot, they taught me to trust again. Well... Trust a little bit again, anyway."

"Your parents helped you? Were they not the ones who hurt you?"

Mia's eyes widened as Ole continued to prod into her history; the man, however, could only take this as a child's panic at nearly spilling a secret which they'd been forced to keep. In his eyes, she was just scared of being hurt by her parents for dobbing them in.

"No. Of course not." She muttered, looking away shyly with a slight shake in her hands. "I don't want to talk about it anymore. Sorry, I just... It makes me feel shaky to talk about it." Turning away, she sighed. "Tom, Kari? Would you like to go outside with me? If... If that's okay with you, Mr Ole?"

Nodding solemnly, convinced the chid was simply trying to protect herself, Ole smiled reassuringly just as Elsa and Odd returned from the kitchen, having left when the former broke down in tears, clearly distressed. "Go ahead, kids. I need to talk with your aunt and uncle anyway."

Thomas and Kari, having grown bored, jumped up eagerly and rushed outside. Mia began to follow after them but, just as she passed Ole, she breathed, "They did not hurt me either." before walking in a collected and composed, if slightly shaken, manner outside.

* * *

"Mia? Princess? Where are you?" The little prince, a title the aforementioned girl and her family knew nothing of, called out as he wandered about the village, searching for his new 'friend'. _He_ liked to think of her like that, at any rate; whether she returned the feelings or not he didn't know. Possibly not, he wasn't all that special really and she was so timid anyway. Seth liked that about her, though; she wasn't boisterous and she was quiet like him. He thought they could get on well, but ultimately her family was evil so there wasn't any hope of that. Unless Hans and Ayla could deal with them, that was... If they could then perhaps, just maybe, they might let Mia stay with them in the Southern Isles? He would like that. To have someone to play with would be nice, he was always so lonely and all the adults were often too busy trying to get rid of the evil people to spend time with him.

"Ohh..." Seth moaned in his natural tongue, thoroughly annoyed. "She must have gone home... Now what?" He let out a small breath of air and fiddled with his fingers, letting them go camouflaged so that he simply ended up with a palm and nought else. He gave a small smile at the bizarre sight but his face quickly fell again; that was until he realised what he had just said. _Oh, oh, oh!_ He thought eagerly, _She's gone home! _He giggled and gave a little skip and he rushed back in the direction he'd come from, pleased that he'd worked out—all on his own, as well—where the girl was.

It only took about ten seconds to reach the house which he'd been sitting outside next to with Mia before he'd left—the village really was tiny—and he creeped up to the edge of the house, camouflaging his entire head and standing on a large rock to peek in through the window. He frowned at what he saw; there were no children in the room even though there had been earlier—which, sadly, meant that Mia was somewhere else—and the kind redhead princess had gone too. The only ones left were the fair haired queen, the wicked Elsa who looked strangely young to have near-white hair, and two men who Seth did not know by name for certain, though, if he remembered rightly, the one with messy brown hair was called Odd.

Pressing his ear to the window and making sure to keep his camouflage in check, Seth struggled to hear what was going on inside the room, eager to know what was making the wicked queen look so... Terrified?

He wasn't sure evil people could even get scared; they weren't human like himself, Hans and Ayla, and the rest of the kingdom were. Surely they didn't have hearts to feel pain or fear?

A quiet humming reached his right ear—the one not pressed up against the window—and Seth jerked around, quickly making his whole body blend into the wall as he froze, watching nervously as a middle-aged woman, leading an averagely sized reindeer doe, walked over. She paused next to him and gave him a warm smile as she ruffled his hair before toddling off down the side of the house and out to the garden, animal in tow, leaving Seth dumbstruck. Other than Hans and Ayla, no one else could ever see him when he was camouflaged. No one else even knew of his abilities!

Trying to shake off the shock Seth followed quietly, peeking into the back garden just as a loud squeal sounded; peering in he watched as Princess Mia, who had previously been sat on the grass quietly and making a daisy chain, sprung up and launched herself at the doe, flinging her arms around and burying her face in the animal's soft, fluffy winter coat. She clung on tightly and buried her fingers in as if she thought she'd never see her again and, in reply, her pet chuffed and then pulled back, giving a mischievous, reindeer-esque smile before moving forwards hastily, wiping her tongue all across her owner's face.

"Eww, Lysse!" Mia whined as she pushed back, brushing reindeer slobber from her eyes, and she scowled. "I've told you before, no kisses!"

The reindeer let out a series of amused grunting sounds before jumping forwards again, knocking the girl down and attempting to lick her again, her little tail wagging ten to the dozen.

"Lysse!" Mia cried again, an action which was most definitely a mistake as her face was covered in slobber once more, dribbles sliding into her mouth. "Eww! If Sven wants to do that with Papa that's fine, but not me!"

Lysse bleated happily and—finally—drew back, plonking her rear on the floor like an oversized dog, her tongue lolling out as she panted. Mia laughed and returned to her side, cuddling up next to her. "Yes, okay. I love you too!" She said and the doe's eyes lit up; wrapping her neck around the child in a hug of sorts, she sighed and rested her muzzle in Mia's hand, waiting for affection. She didn't wait long as the girl began to play with her, and even Kari—whose face was alight with jealousy—and Thomas joined in the scratching too.

Treading forwards unsurely, desperately wanting to go over and play but not sure if the other children would accept his presence and let him join in, Seth winced as he felt his foot tread down on an almost dry stick, not quite making a snapping noise but eliciting a betraying crunch all the same, and he drew back quickly.

Mia's head was the first to jerk in his direction—why she was so jumpy he wasn't quite sure—followed by Lysse and the children soon after. The reindeer made a few warning grunts, rising quickly to protect the young girl who was her best friend, while Mia hid behind her rear leg with her hands at the ready. Kari stood up stiffly, hands slightly clenched into fists and Thomas stood next to her, simply looking inquisitive.

Seth stepped backwards nervously and struggled to keep his camouflage steady, watching the group carefully for any signs of recognition on their faces; now that they knew he was here it would be possible, if a little tricky, to locate him; he was only camouflaged after all, not invisible.

Walking backwards and keeping an eye on the group, it was soon revealed, had not been the best course of action; catching his foot on a firmly large rock Seth let out a gasp as he fell with a thud, landing fairly hard and moaning in discomfort as he tried to stand. Just at that point he heard a disturbance and turned to see Lysse no hot on his trail, nose pressed to the ground like a bloodhound, sniffing him out; he inched away from her before freezing, hoping that she would simply pass on by, but, naturally, he had no such luck. Whining as he felt his shirt be grabbed in the creatures jaws he struggled fruitlessly to escape, eventually giving in when he felt himself be lifted from the ground. His shirt ripped threateningly—Ayla would not be pleased if she found him destroying his possessions, accident or not—and he squeezed his eyes shut, keeping the camouflage in one last-ditch attempt to remain hidden.

That plan, however, failed as soon as he felt a soft hand gently patting his cheek, obviously searching; Mia, who had been reaching out for whatever it was that Lysse had found, gasped when she felt his skin, hastily drawing back fearfully before she began to see his shape against the background.

"S-Seth? Is that you?"

Realising his cover had been blown, Seth sighed and dropped the camouflage as Lysse put him down, nudging his body all over for any signs of danger. Making a few soft grunts to confirm that he was safe, she stepped backwards to much on some grass, looking thoroughly pleased as she did so. Even the last few days on the island had done wonders for her; the almost rounded stomach she now sported was much better than her skeletal figure from beforehand.

"How-?" Mia began, looking at the boy stupendously. At least it explained how he had disappeared before, but she could hardly believe that he was part chameleon.

"I'm sorry..." Seth mumbled as he looked down at the floor, a small tear trickling down his cheek. Why did he have to screw everything up?

Before Mia could respond, Kari and Thomas both being too dumbstruck to say a word, Seth spun on his heels and ran, camouflage trickling down his neck like water. He whimpered as he tried to escape, blending into the background slowly and unconsciously, and let out a small cry as he was pulled back around by Lysse. He buried his head in his hands and instantly pictured his bedroom in his mind, his body and clothes camouflaging to adopt the colours of his destination. He gasped quietly as he began to teleport, feeling Mia's hand on his shoulder a moment before he heard her cry of fear as she adopted the same pattern as himself. And then the now-familiar feeling, at least to the boy, of being squeezed through time and space overcame them.

* * *

Elsa sighed as she waved her hand shakily behind her back in a small circular motion; the material of her ice dress instantly thawed, revealing the pale, near-white skin which was blotted by a large, ugly scabbed-over pattern. She whimpered quietly as she felt her hand, previously concealing the traitorous mark, be pulled away with soft, non forceful movements; still, she allowed her husband to give her the help she needed to do this task.

At first, there was silence as Ole, who had been told to look, turned his head away respectfully; to see the bare back of another man's wife—and a queen at that—seemed entirely inappropriate. After a little while, though, curiosity won out. Taking a hastened glance the sight of Elsa's scabbed, bloodied back he stepped back involuntarily, his hand flying to his mouth, sickened. He kept back nervously, not sure what to think of the vicious but seemingly irrelevant wound.

"Look closer," Odd instructed, wrapping his arm around Elsa's left shoulder, careful to avoid the older, almost healed brand on her right, and squeezing lightly for comfort. She stiffened in response to his words, her entire body shaking as she moaned softly in insecurity, but she murmured her assent.

"I-it's okay..." she breathed, stuttering and stumbling over her words, "Look... Look at the sh-shape."

Ole, for once sympathising with the queen, did as he was told; even an incredibly experienced actress would have trouble with speaking with as much legitimacy as she and her discomfort was no act, that much he knew for certain. Looking closer at the wound**—**and making sure to apologise as he did so, in case she suddenly decided to impale him with an icy spear—he frowned for a while until Odd came to assist him, quickly kissing his wife's cheek reassuringly before he did so; bending down slightly he gripped Elsa's hand as he softly touched his finger on the scab, instantly getting the response he'd expected**—**immediately her body stiffened up and her right hand clenched while she gripped onto her husband's almost bone-crushingly tight, her body beginning to descend into a panic. Considering the circumstances of the brand, Odd really could not blame her and gave her a few seconds to relax slightly before he continued, realising that too much stress could hurt the baby—his baby.

Following the shape slowly so that Ole could keep up, he looked towards him confidently once he'd finished, feeling relieved once the man's face fell suddenly, his posture drooping. He stood up taller and whispered to Elsa that it was okay and she let out an extremely obvious sigh, hurrying to re-freeze the gap before collapsing as her knees gave way, her body shaking with the overload of emotions. Gripping onto Odd for support, she nestled somewhat stiffly into his chest and buried her head in his shoulder, sobbing quietly; he, in turn, placed his hands on her back and pulled her close, murmuring quietly and trying to soothe her, though not quite succeeding as she kept weeping.

Turning back to Ole, he studied the man's expression with much interest; his eyes were dull, his lips tight. It was a while before he even attempted to speak.

"S.I." he uttered, his fists suddenly beginning to clench tighter. "The Southern Isles, right?"

"Yeah."

Ole groaned as he buried his head in his hands; as much as he hated thinking so poorly of his kingdom's royals, the evidence against them given by the Arendelle family... It was overwhelming and undeniable. "My God. I'm... I'm so sorry." He stood a little straighter and tried to appear stronger than he was. "Is there... Anything I can do to help?"

"I... I dunno." Odd admitted, before noticing that the weight he was now supporting had gotten increasingly greater; inspecting his wife, he realised she'd fallen asleep abruptly. "We need to go soon, though. Freddie's so ill, he'll... Well, I can't even say it. But we've gotta go, and we need stuff. Food, mainly, and a few blankets, clothes, all that stuff. Any old things we can get, just to make it to Corona."

"How far's that?"

"No clue. Don't ask me anything to do with numbers, I can barely do my son's level of maths. But no more than a week, I think."

Ole frowned at Odd's words as he watched the prince lay his sleeping wife down on the sofa; she squirmed uncomfortably as he rose to leave and he returned to her side immediately. Ole watched quietly, observantly. _Now that's dedication. Such a little __thing, but still... _"I can't offer much myself, I don't have much. But my wife said she'd gone out to get something to help your son, and I'm sure I can find some old blankets or something. You deserve as much simply for my mistrust." He paused before his eyes narrowed slightly. "Although you did still punch me."

"You insulted my wife." Odd countered, his voice cold now, and Ole sighed.

"I'd apologise, but I'm not the sort of guy who can do that. So you'll have to just settle for me saying that I misjudged you. Hmm?"

"Yeah, fine." Odd replied with a slight chuckle, "Although... There is one more thing you could do-"

The door burst open and Kari and Thomas ran in, looking frantic; Lysse barrelled in after them wildly, tossing her head in an overly distressed manner. She bleated wildly and poor Fredrik jerked awake and sat upright immediately, moaning as he did so and laying back down, curling into a ball and rocking back and forth. Elsa awoke groggily as he did so and she trudged over to his side, her fingers resting in Odd's hand until the last second; reaching her son's cot behind the sofa she placed her hand on his forehead and stroked gently, before her legs gave way as she fell asleep once more, draped over the edge with her head resting on Freddie's chest.

Odd watched quietly before turning to his panicked niece and nephew. "What's wrong?"

"Mia! She... There was a boy and then..." Kari stuttered, not able to form a proper sentence. Thomas quickly stood in for her.

"She's gone!"

* * *

**Yay! Ole finally trusts the royals! It certainly took him long enough...**

**Anyway, please review! The ****royals'll be leaving for Corona soon and they'll only be there for a bit so please get a review in, no matter how short, before the fic ends? Pretty please?**

**Luna**


	40. Chapter 40-dedicated to anniGirl39

_WildVirus (guest): _**Glad you liked it**

_KLime (guest):_ **I didn't think about the possibility of Seth taking Hans and/or Ayla along with him on his 'exertions', but now that you mention it that is a good possibility if they find out about his strength! And thanks for the laugh at the end of your review, I like to laugh :)**

_disneylover115: _**Thanks!**

_the green baron:_ **Ahaa, you'll have to wait and see :)**

_Pabulover123_**: They have all had it tough recently, haven't they? Like you say it'll only get worse for Mia when she learns why Seth looks so much like her tormentors... Poor kid, she's only eight :( Hell, she's barely half of my age! That's a scary thought... **

thorinii**: Thanks for the review!**

* * *

Mia wasn't quite sure what had happened as she opened her eyes tentatively once the spinning and nauseous feelings had both ended, instead being replaced by a dull throbbing in the entire left side of her body. Glancing about the room scrutinously as her eyes focused in the suddenly dark light—it had been day when Seth had done... whatever he did to her—she let her eyebrows furrow as she noticed that this place seemed somehow familiar, the layout and shape of the room ringing a bell someplace deep in her mind. Still, as she looked about she couldn't quite place it, the new furniture—a young boy's, presumably—obscuring her recollection.

"M-Mia?" whispered a timid and remorseful voice which the princess immediately recognised to belong to the lad who'd dragged her out here, "Mia, where a-are you?"

"I'm here," Mia snapped, glaring. How dare he drag her to some strange place without her permission? Her eyes narrowed in his general direction—she couldn't quite see him, meaning he must have been using this new power of his. She wanted to class it as invisibility, but she knew it wasn't actually that; after a few seconds of consideration she decided it was probably some sort of camouflage. If she recalled correctly, he'd put his camouflage on her just before he brought her here, too; she shuddered at the thought and tried to focus on happier memories.

Somehow, though, she seemed completely incapable of thinking of any nice things; this place seemed to put a damper on it all.

"I am sorry, Mia, I… I did not try to bring you with me." he said, walking towards her slowly, knowing that she could not see him. He wanted to see if she looked mad before revealing himself, although he was well aware that she would not be welcome here. As Princess Anna's daughter, the child of his 'adopted' father's most hated enemy, her appearance would surely not go down well.

Mia, of course, was not one for being overly bitter and though her blood still boiled her expression softened as she heard the boy's regrets. With a forced plain, almost emotionless tone she closed her eyes so as not to have to look around blindly for the boy whom she was addressing and instead simply spoke in the hopes that he'd hear. "Okay. Please take me back now, then. I don't like this place, it scares me."

"Why?" Seth prodded, curious; his room was large, homely and warm and was a generally happy place, so what was there for her to dislike? Did she, maybe, not like the soft shade of blue that the walls were painted with? He couldn't possibly think of anything else which might be wrong.

"I don't know, it just makes me shiver," she admitted, looking down at the ground with a tiny blush gracing her cheeks, "so, please can you-"

Mia trailed off as she noticed something odd, her ears picking up on the quiet, muffled sound of boots on a wooden floor; she took a few small, hasty steps backwards and held her breath as she realised that someone was nearby.

"Seth?" A voice, a masculine voice which made the princess' trembling worsen, called out through the door as the handle began to creak.

"Yes?" Seth squeaked involuntarily, an immediate reaction, and scampered over to Mia when he realised what he'd done, pushing her backwards to the bed and pushing her down to her knees, telling her to get underneath. He liked the girl; he didn't want her hurt.

"What are you doing back here, Seth?" the voice asked and Mia, who was half way through crawling under the bed frame, stiffened suddenly, her heart skyrocketing into her throat. She winced at every word that was spoken, her very soul aching with each blow; she couldn't understand the words spoken in Danish, but that voice…

She knew that voice.

It belonged to some man, one who she vaguely recalled in blurred, five year old memories from her toddler days. The torture in the caves, and being rescued by a foreign prince, her knight in shining armour back in the day… The same man who was outside the room now, who had been the one to arrange for her to be hurt so inhumanely.

"I... I don't know, Hans." Seth whispered in reply, his hands shaking slightly. Mia was puzzled by his words; though she could not understand a thing she recognised the tell-tale shaking of his voice, the fear he felt. Why he would even be talking to that monster of a man—Hans, as Seth had reminded her—was a mystery. "I just… I couldn't f-find the royals. I thought I'd come back here and…"

"And what?"

Seth hung his head and whimpered, muttering something indiscernible; Hans snarled in response. "Speak up, Seth. Don't mumble." he scolded firmly, but only succeeded in making the child even quieter.

"N-nothing Hans. I'm sorry."

"Oh for heaven's sake, Seth!" Hans growled, eyes flashing. Mia, still hidden under the bed, couldn't see what was going on but she shivered nonetheless, well aware of the maliciousness in that voice. Her breathing hitched momentarily as she recalled the same malevolence being used on her, years before. Clenching her fists to keep herself from getting overly panicked, she let nothing more than a small squeak escape from her lips. Hastily covering her mouth with her hand her eyes widened as Hans, who had been walking closer to Seth, paused momentarily; a second later he shrugged off the sound and continued to pace towards his son.

"I'm sorry, Hans…"

"No! Stop being such a brat." Hans bit out as he reached forwards to grab his son's wrist, jerking it up into the air so that he couldn't move away. "We give you a chance to prove yourself and you _give up_ at a moment's difficulty? That is pathetic, Seth." Hans spoke with a firm, unwavering tone as he let go of the boy's hand, allowing him to fall down to the floor. Bending down so low that Mia could see his right hand as it rested on the floor, his eyes flashed. "In fact, it's not even pathetic. It's downright imbecilic."

"W-what? I don't u-understand what you m-mean…" Seth stuttered, his words fragmented.

"Foolish, you dolt. Stupid. And _extremely_ unappreciative of this great gift which we—Ayla and I—have bestowed upon you, this great chance." Hans let out an extremely exasperated sigh and then paused for a second before a loud, sudden _thwap_ rang out through the room and Seth's cry of pain was just as intense, though he cut it off as if he knew better than to scream. Mia, meanwhile, curled up into a ball at the sounds as she remembered her own terror in this evil kingdom, rocking slightly under the low bed and muttering incoherently in her own language, unable to understand Hans'. "You disgust me, Seth."

"I'm sorry…"

_Thwap_. The harsh slap sounded again and Mia let out a whine, having to freeze her mouth shut as Seth simply moaned, scuffling back away from Hans. A small bag fell from his pocket as he moved, skidding across the polished floor and over to Mia; the turkish delight. With her mind in turmoil she reached out and pulled the paper towards her, reaching inside and cringing at the soft rustling which came as she pulled a single sweet out. A reckless move, to be sure, but she needed something—anything—to keep herself distracted from the horror before her.

If she wanted to stay alive, she had to keep quiet. Hans would surely tear her limb from limb if she was so foolish as to emerge, even if she wanted to help her betraying friend.

"Now get out of here, Seth. Don't you dare disappoint me again if you want to stay a prince." Hans snarled, not really caring if Seth understood what he meant by remaining a royal or not; it didn't even matter either, for the tone had been so harsh it would be impossible to misjudge its meaning. It wasn't a casual comment, it was a full out warning.

"Yes, H-Hans." Seth replied dutifully, hanging his head and waiting, praying that the man would leave soon so that he could get Mia away from here. Hans was more than merciful and was the perfect father figure, that Seth knew—his harsh tendencies were only brought about by the need to fix the young prince's shameful habits and actions—but he wouldn't hesitate to hurt Mia; she and her family were a threat to the kingdom, after all.

"Well, get on with it!" Hans growled and Seth stiffened in fear, jerking his head in the direction of the bed once and making to head in that direction before he faltered, nodded and let his body adapt the colours of Ole's garden. A second later, he was gone, leaving only a suspicious Hans in his wake.

Mia, meanwhile, felt her heart plummet at the distinctive sound of him popping way, her eyes widening and glistening with tears as she hastily reached into the bag and retrieved another Turkish delight, thankfully without rustling the paper, and shoved it all into her gob greedily, needing the sugar to try and stop herself from crying out in fear. She ate desperately, each chew in time with the frantic thud-thud-thud-thudding of her heart, as she watched the pair of polished black leather riding boots of Hans' stepping ever closed and she timidly shuffled back. She tried to keep her mind occupied; if she squeaked she would surely be found out.

_How shiny and neat that leather is... I wonder how long it has been since Papa's boots were shined? Surely it must be many months; Mama has to pester him so to get them done, he cannot see the point..._

_It's incredible how little dust there is under here, I would have presumed the maids would not clean area. They certainly do a good job._

_I bet the view from these rooms in incredible, Seth's lucky to have such a nice room..._

Her thoughts ended immediately when she realised why she knew the room; this had been her's when she had stayed here. When she'do been kidnapped and tortured years before, stolen from her family so cruelly...

A pair of fairly long fingers reached under the frame of the large bed and Mia had to stifle a gasp as she realised that Hans was now just next to her, about to look underneath; from this short distance Mia could now see the spurs attached to his boots, fairly sharp and really quite barbaric, and she swallowed the Turkish delight she'd been chewing.

Was this the end? Would she be found and dragged out, maybe beaten or bludgeoned to death...

A tiny pop sounded to Mia's left and she almost did gasp as the outline of a boy appeared next to her; reaching out for him she let out a deep breath as she found his fingers, felt the camoflauge trickle down her neck and then disappeared alongside him, just as Hans' malicious face appeared under the bed frame.

* * *

Mia groaned as she landed heavily just outside of Ole's house, her heart still ready to overheat from exertion and her blood pumping faster than one could ever have thought possible. She gave a small moan of discomfort as she buried her head in her hands, realising that life had suddenly got much more complicated, as if it wasn't bad enough already.

Seth was working for Ayla and Hans. At least she assumed so, she hadn't been able to hear what he had been told. That much ought to have made her bitter towards him—he was with her family's biggest enemy, after all!—but then she would remember how he cried out, how Hans was clearly just as abusive towards Seth as he had been to Mia, maybe even more so.

Oh, what to do?

The door burst open and Anna launched outside as Seth, still camouflaged to Mia's right, quickly crept backwards. She sprinted eagerly towards her eldest daughter, only restrained by a struggling Kristoff. Mia gave a very small smile in her mother's direction. "What's wrong, Mama?" she asked sweetly, her blue eyes pained but warm as well, and Anna launched herself upon her daughter, scooping her up in her arms and holding on tightly.

"They... They... They said you w-were gone!" Anna stuttered, absolutely distraught but quickly becoming relieved as she clung on, a few tears streaming down her cheeks. Mia stiffened slightly in response and paused for a moment before pushing away, contemplating whether to be a stitch or not; though she couldn't help but feel that she really ought to she quickly decided against it, Seth was just as much of a victim as she.

"Of course not, I was just... just playing with Seth. That's all, I was looking for him. He was, uh, badgering me to play hide and seek." she said, forcing a smile and making a nervous laugh as she realised that the boy had disappeared. "I, ah, could not find him. He is really good at hiding. I mean, really, Mama, how could I just _disappear_ like that?"

Anna let out a long breath and sobbed a little harder. "I don't know, I just... Panicked when your brother and sister said you were gone. Even L-Lysse looked scared!" She laughed at her own foolishness and grabbed Mia once more, smothering her with gentle kisses. The girl cringed in response after the fourth and stumbled back a little, out of Anna's reach.

All the while Seth watched on from the back of the garden, wondering why Anna wasn't scolding Mia for scaring her so as Ayla and Hans would have done.

* * *

**Wow, I can't get over how useful it is having study breaks at school, gives me extra time to write ****when I'm done with my work! But I still end up late... Sorry for how short this chapter is, I just couldn't stay awake to write more.**

**Please review, what with all my school work I need the motivation,**

**Luna**


	41. Chapter 41- dedicated to spartandestroyr

_PeruvianInca: _**Thanks!**

_disneylover115:_ **Yeah, the Southern Isles isn't a nice place for Mia. And yes, my goats are well thank you!**

_KLime (guest):_ **Haha, yeah, I can't write properly when I'm tired. Amma vs Anna, who'll win? xD As for the dust, I'm surprised you picked up on that fact, I didn't really think that anyone would. Admittedly I didn't think about loose hairs or anything though, as for sweet wrappers just assume the sweets were wrapper-less.**

_spartandestroyr:_ **Haha, it's nice to know my fic's an emotional roller coaster, tPhat must mean I'm doing _something_ right at least!**

_anniGirl39:_ **Haha, yep, Seth will be in a bit of a mess with Mia now...**

_Cocogirlisloco (guest): _**Ah, I don't wanna make you cry! Maybe someone will write an extension of the fic when it ends for you? xD**

_Pabulover123:_ **Yep, poor Mia is still (and will always be) very insecure about... well, lots of things. And things are only harder now too!**

_WildVirus (guest):_ **Glad you liked it!**

_thorinnii (guest)**:**_** Yes, it could have been quite a long old plot arc if Mia was left there. However, sadly I've got to wrap this series up at some point before the few readers I have left give up (I'd rather not end on a low note!) so extra plots would have to wait. I thought that it made a nice way for Mia to learn some more about Seth.**

* * *

People milled about the well in a mystified manner, none understanding why they had been summoned for a meeting at such short notice. A few children whined at being awoken before noon, whilst babes squalled endlessly as they so often would; Elsa, who was stood next to the well with her family and Ole, winced at the sounds, realising she'd have to deal with the same screaming in six months' time. Otherwise, though, now that she was so sure that the child she was carrying was not sired by some monster, she was even getting rather excited at the idea of meeting him. She was, justifiably, dreading the birth based on her previous experience—what with Ayla's magic having made Freddie grow at such a considerable rate, roughly two thousands times the normal speed, giving birth to such a large child had been agonising—but the thought of another babe of her own around the castle... That was a joyous thought, and a motivational one as well; it gave Elsa even more need to get her own kingdom back, for the sake of this sweet, hope-bringing unborn child.

Ole cleared his throat as he stepped onto the low wall surrounding the wishing well, holding onto its roof as he looked out on the people. Given the way everyone silenced at his word—many unwilling to halt their complaints, it should be added—one would have considered him a king; he was, alas, nought more than a village farmer—though an evidently well respected farmer at least.

"Det kan komme som en overraskelse," Ole began, speaking in Danish to the gathered villagers (plus one small, uncounted for lad in the far back row). Elsa quickly translated for her own family as "This may be a surprise", thus hinting that the man would not beat around the bush, and was putting it out there immediately. Perhaps that was the best course of action; it didn't allow people the time to think. "men jeg kender til en kendsgerning, at denne kvinde og hendes familie er ikke dårlige mennesker."

The crowd grew impossibly more silent for a moment at Ole's words as Elsa explained what hen had said; that she and the royals were not bad people. Then, amoment later, a sarcastic laugh broke the serenity, and many eyes began glaring in the royals' direction.

"Sikker!" the laughing man yelled with a bitter tone, his eyes sharp as he cried out, '_yeah right_!'

"Jeg ved, det virker utroligt, men du bare nødt til at stole på mig." Ole began, telling the people that they just had to trust in him. "Dronning Elsa har givet mig ubestridelige, men yderst personligt bevis, som hun viste mig ud af ren og skær fortvivlet." He finished speaking for a few seconds as he allowed his words to settle in, having just revealed to the people that Elsa had given him proof, and extremely personal proof at that, to show him the truth. Not the sort of man to betray someone's trust, he had long decided that he would reveal no more information of Elsa's proof than mentioning it's existance.

"Hvordan kan vi stole på dem?" One (perfectly reasonable) woman queried, clinging a young baby to her chest as she asked how they could trust Elsa without seeing proof themselves; at the prospect of having to show more people her shameful secret the said Queen stumbled backwards and into her younger sister's embrace, fearfully. Anna, too, was shaking a little; she could give proof as well, but she didn't think she could live with the humiliation of anyone else knowing.

"Jeg beder dig ikke om at have tillid til dem, bare for at tro mig, når jeg siger, at de er i sikkerhed." Ole said, speaking with sudden authority as if he knew he held some authority over the other people—though whether or not he did was very difficult to tell. He didn't _seem_ that important, really, as bad as that sounded.

"What did he say?" Odd whispered, cursing himself for not learning Danish—or any other foreign language, for that matter.

"He said not to trust us, but to trust him when he says that we are safe," Elsa replied ith a quivering voice, though she respected Ole's tactics. As he continued to speak, she translated all the while. "He just said that we need the villagers' help to get Freddie to Corona for his medicine, and I think he mentionned that I'm offering an icy store in exchange for anything they can give us."

She trailed off as he finished speaking and then looked at the crowd hesitantly; first slowly, and then increasingly quickly, a series of unenthusiastic grunts of assent rung out, and the people slowly began to disperse, grouchily setting off to rustle up those few old, moldy rugs under their beds, or the like. Elsa gave a small smile which was soon replicated upon all of the royals' faces.

"Thank you so much, Ole!" Anna squealed as she flung herself at him, wrapping him in an embrace; she quickly pushed away a second later, realising how improper that was, but the man just smiled, a ghost of guilt flitting around in his eyes.

"I had to," he replied, shrugging, "to make up for how awful I was. People here... They respect me, I guess, so they tend to do what I ask. So long as it's reasonable, course."

"Well, whatever the case may be, we are all incredibly indebted to you." Elsa said with a small smile, before standing a little taller. "I... I suppose we ought to get ready then?"

The remainder of the group nodded, mumbling a little half-heartedly. Ole nodded, turning in the direction of thecommunal stables. "Well, follow me. You can get your animals and then head out to the beach; I, ah, would assume that you are planning on building a ship with your ice powers once again? Like the one before?"

Just before Elsa could reply, Odd stepped forwards and grinned. "Wait a second. It'll need the help of the village I think, but... I've got a better idea."

* * *

Dark clouds drifted overhead threateningly, the grey a seemingly endless wall of bleakness against the bright blue sky which was hidden behind, rarely peeking out for a blink's time before disappearing once more. The world below, fairly bright and cheerful earlier on that morning, had thus been morphed into a depressing place of unsaturated colours, dull creams and greens, lifeless blues and other hues of little appreciation. The rain, however, was still holding off, fighting the urge to drench the poor people below to the bone.

At present, the westernmost beach of the small island was a hive of activity, a large number of the villagers having gathered (with little enthusiasm, it had to be said) to help out the royals. With their half-hearted support, work was coming along much quicker; a small icy ship, little longer than the average sailing boat but much, much deeper, had been sculpted from Elsa's powers. Currently, people were busying themselves with gathering the pieces of wood that Odd had found laying about the beach; the remnants of one of their kingdom's own ships. Thankfully, no questions were raised as people held them against the edge of the craft's walls, painted side inward so that it couldn't be seen, waiting for Elsa to freeze them into place. There hadn't been enough debris to build a whole ship with, not to mention how much longer that would take, but by freezing the planks to the edge of the ice ship the vessel would look much less suspicious to any nearby ships. At least, that was the plan.

Mia, stood at the far end of the ship with Lysse, frowned as she watched the reindeer trying to position the next plank of wood. "A little to the left-no, a little less please-up a touch-yes! There, hold it there Lysse!" She walked closer and began freezing re edges of the plank carefully onto the outside of the ship, laughing quietly at her friend's excitedly wagging tail. Scratching her cheek once she had finished securing the wood, she cuddled in and wrapped her arms around the doe's neck. "Thanks, girl." she whispered gently. Lysse replied with a soft series of grunts and rubbed her neck affectionately on her friend's shoulder.

"M-Mia?"

The princess faltered, the ice which had been encasing the wood slowing in its path for a moment. "What, Seth?" She said once she calmed down, not quite snapping but with a severe voice all the same. Focusing on the job at hand, she refused to turn in his direction and instead kept focused on her important task.

"Do you... Do you hate me very a lot?"

Finishing off securing the plank of wood and then asking (a very wary and unsure) Lysse to fetch another from one of the many piles scattered along the beach, she fiddled with her fingers idly. Just one small snowflake was all it would take; just one to send him running, far, far away from here, completely at Mia's mercy. But, tempting as it was, images of the sunken ship kept filtering back into her mind, leaving her incapable of acting; she couldn't trust her powers. The ice was one thing, but the mind control... It was terrifying.

"No, I don't hate you." she said, speaking with that same somewhat bitter tone. Ignoring his blatant grammar mistake, she forced herself to talk quickly in order to limit her contact with him. "I would, since you are working with my enemy. But I saw how they treat you, so I can sympathise a bit."

Though he didn't understand the last part, only one point actually struck Seth. "Enemy? Hans and Ayla are your enemy?"

"Enemies. Plural. And yes, Seth, they are. They hurt me very badly, and they hurt my family very badly. So it's really quite fair that we hate them. And so my family would hate you too, if they knew you worked with them—so you're extremely lucky that I didn't tell. But I only held my tongue only because they hurt you too."

"You held your—oh, do not worry. I understand." he murmured, kicking his foot in the sand just as Lysse returned; he jumped back a little as she snorted at him but couldn't help feeling grateful when the princess soothed her quickly. "But really, Hans and Ayla are... They are nice people. They taked me in when I was a baby. They only hurt me if I am bad."

Mia let out a small breath and turned away once again. "Just.. Just think about it, Seth. You'll see they're not all that nice." she said, her voice softer this time. She hastened to busy herself with work, trying to ignore the images of Hans and Ayla popping up in her head.

Come to think of it, Seth was a lot like the pair. From his captivating green-blue eyes, almost the colour of the sea on a summer's day, to his straight, blonde hair and even his facial shape and features; at times Mia couldn't help but see her two enemies perfectly represented in him.

What a coincidence... Right?

"I'm going now, Seth," she finished as she added the last few tendrils of ice to the planks, firmly securing it in place, "so... Just think about whether Hans and Ayla are truly good or not. My family are good people; they love me for who I am, and tell me that they love me." Seth's smile faltered slightly and his eyes darted about nervously. "When was the last time Hans and Ayla told you that, huh?"

Before he could answer, Mia had hopped on Lysse's back and had trotted off to the other side of the ship, to see her mother and aunt. Meanwhile, Seth collapsed on the sand, blended in and closed his eyes as he drifted off into sleep under the meager sunlight, considering the validity of Mia's words.

* * *

The rain began to bucket down just as the last few planks were being secured into place, sending the few remaining villagers—those who had been talking to the royals during their work and had, to their surprise, discovered how pleasantly non-evil they actually were—scattering. Many headed straight for their mount,s galloping back to the village and the dry homes with crackling fires awaiting them there, while a few brave souls chose to wait behind with the royals in a hastily crafted ice-hut, hiding until the rain would let out. Among them, of course, was Ole, who was sat in rather relaxed fashion and enjoying the insulation the ice provided and, by extent, the warmth. The other Danish men and women who remained behind soon calmed down as well, relishing in the heat.

The rain did, after about half an hour of near-monsoon weather, finally cease for a few minutes, giving the people a chance to return home; there they were met with a near heroe's welcome when they reentered their homes, simply because they hadn't been killed by the wicked Queen.

From that point onwards, the rain did not cease until the early hours of the following morning, having tormented the land so much in just a few hours. The sunshine that followed—and the rainbow—were heavenly though, making the island a muddy, but otherwise idyllic, place to be, with droplets of water on the spiderwebs especially making a glistening scene in the trees.

Seth turned up at one point early on with Mia's small bag of Turkish delight, having forgotten to give them back the day before, and Sadie came home fairly early on, a seemingly common event. She clutched a small pebble (though a nicely patterned one) in her left palm, and kept the right free for any other tasks.

By the time the ship had been packed up, with the animals boarded in their freshly strawed cabin (not a patch on the royal stables, but miles better than the hard, cold ice floor) and food and water supplies had been loaded, it was nearing the early afternoon. The weather held out, barely a puff of soft white in the sky, and as the last few items, including tatty old blankets, a few old pillows and even a small, stiff wooden box for food storage, were brought on the ship even the wind did not increase at all.

Just as the royals were about to push off—though they had spent little more than a few days on the island, it felt like forever—a small cry came through the crowd and Sadie came running, up, the pebble from before still clutched in her hand and a small, carved spinner held in the other. Holding them out, she smiled very slightly and began to back away, though not before she saw Elsa put the, down inside. Giggling in an emotionless tone, she trotted down the ramp and then off without another word. Ole gave a small salute by means of both thanks and apology, laughing.

"Send us a postcard!" he cried amusedly, and Elsa laughed.

"You wish!" she shouted back, grinning. "But I'll come back to visit at some time."

Ole grinned, and the smile was contagious as it spread through the group of Danish men, women and children. "We'll look forwards to your visit, then!"

* * *

**Ah, I'm tired. Thanks for the extra reviews last chapter, I'd appreciate if a few more could review though.**

**See you, **

**Luna**


	42. Chapter 42 - dedicated to disneylover115

_spartandestroyr: _**Well, accepted is a little ambitious but yeah, things are looking a little better. Except for poor Freddie, he's really not in a good state (gosh, if I'd been sick for as long as him I'd have just given up).**

_anniGirl39:_ **Glad you liked it! As for whether Mia will discover the truth about Seth or not... Well, that would be quite the blow for her, so maybe, maybe not. Depends how mean I'm feeling.**

_KLime (guest): _**I'm glad you liked the writing and the ship's design especially. It's quite patchy, really - sort of like the royals' lives, constantly changing! As for Seth, yes, he is quite close to Mia. That's not much of a surprise, really - they're both the quiet sort so would probably make good friends, if Mi wasn't so timid and suspicious and Seth was a touch less naïve! Also, you say about future leaders in the making... Well, Seth does mean "appointed"... Of course, the Egyptian god of chaos was also called Seth... And yeah, Sadie definitely wanted to say goodbye. What little kid, or childlike adult, wouldn't want to give their friend a big hug before they left? (Actually, I used to lock myself in my room and refuse to come out when my friends moved but still...)**

_thorinii (guest)_: **Glad you're happy to see stuff happening. As for the freezer things, yes, Elsa would have built them, it just wasn't mentioned because I could only make it fit in really awkwardly and it didn't sound right. As for the word postcard not appearing until 1890... eh, oh well. Like you say, frozen mismatches loads of things (they didn't actually have the sort of chocolates Anna was eating for many, many years either!). Personally, I just like to say that the Frozen (and Frozen Powers!) universe is separate to our own. Besides, I'm pretty sure we'd remember a magician ****Queen, and Frozen is just too amazing to not be real...! Right?**

_Pabulover123_**: thanks for the review! And yes, Mia is quite grown up, poor Seth will have to grow up quickly too sadly.**

_DisneyLover115_**: Glad you liked the chap! Yes, it is quite a relief that the royals finally have someone on their side at least!**

_WildVirus (guest):_ **Thanks!**

* * *

OElsa felt tears begin to well up in her eyes as she held a spoon to her sick son's mouth, her hand trembling slightly. After recently getting the child dressed into some second hand clean clothes donated by the villagers, it had become apparent just how much weight he had lost; it hadn't been easy to tell when he had been dressed, but when Elsa removed the old, sweaty top—the same one he'd had to wear for nearly a month, since Arne and his men had left them with nothing but the clothes on their backs—his prominent rib bones were a sure sign that he was severely underweight.

"Come on, Freddie. Just a few mouthfuls, please?" she pleaded, gently trying to press the spoon against his lips to force them open. Sick as he was, he refused point blank and turned his head away with a moan, sweat beading on his pale skin.

"Nnghh," he moaned, eyes squeezed shut and fists clenched. He couldn't quite find the energy to speak, but in his head, he willed his mother to understand his silent plea.

_I don't like this, Mama. Please just let it end. I don't want this anymore..._

Elsa, of course, didn't hear as she desperately tried to get the boy to accept the food. She didn't want him to eat massive amounts—to do so would be counterproductive, sadly—but just a few mouthfuls, enough to fill his surely pea-sized stomach. That way, she could simply feed him little and often, and hopefully he would put on some weight. At least enough to survive the trip to Corona; after that, hopefully little Eva could cure him and he'd be fit and well in no time.

Drawing away from her son, Elsa placed the small spoon back in the bowl of mashed potato and buried her head in one hand, softly stroking her son's nearly-steaming forehead with a chilly touch. He gave a very faint, feeble sigh and curled his lips up in a small smile at the relief.

As Freddie fell back into sleep once more, soothed by the chill of his mother's touch, Elsa stood up and drew her hand back slowly, careful to avoid nudging him at all as she walked away from his bed. It was a simple craft, made from an ice frame holding an old, straw-filled section of a double mattress, sawn into roughly-sized quarters so that each of the children could sleep in relative comfort. Being the smallest, Kari had the least generous share, with Thomas and Freddie having equally sized beds and Mia having a slightly bigger share. With a little difficulty, Ole had also managed to convince one family to part with the two old, slightly stained single mattresses of their grown children, which made a bed for Elsa and Odd when pushed together, and he and Sadie had been more than willing to donate their spare bed as well.

Leaving the warmth of the cabin behind as she walked out onto the deck, Elsa smiled sympathetically at Kristoff who was sat outside and warming his left hand by a small fire, while holding a large , somewhat rusted saucepan in his right. The bloke was hardly a good cook—none of the royals were all that brilliant, come to think of it, though Odd was unquestionably the best when it came to cooking outdoors-style—but he was also the most accustomed to the cold, and the night was hardly warm. It didn't bother her, nor did it bother Mia who was using her powers to refreeze the constantly melting ice beneath the hot flames, but poor Kristoff was surely feeling the chill.

"Do you want me to take over?" Elsa asked as she walked around to his side, watching the memorising flames and enjoying their warmth. "You look absolutely frozen."

"No, no, I'm good." Kristoff replied as he scooted a little closer to the fire, barely avoiding being licked by the flames. Elsa frowned at him and reached down, instead prying the saucepan's handle from his grasp with her slender fingers and pushing him away from the fire. "What's the point in you suffering so when I'm fine myself?" she queried, shooing him away. "Go on, go and see Anna. My poor husband must be climbing the walls by now, on his own with her for so long."

"She's not so bad," Kristoff said with a chuckle, standing and starting to walk away, "but I guess she can be a little… excitable at times."

"Yes, she is certainly a free spirit. Hardly what one would expect of a princess; but then I'm not really your average Queen, either, so I can't talk anyway." Elsa smiled softly as she stirred the saucepan's contents—potatoes simmering in boiling water—and then ceased to do so a second later, continuing to hold it above the flames. Noticing a section of water that Mia'd neglected to notice, she froze that herself and then turned back to her brother-in-law. "Besides, I wouldn't have her any other way. She makes life a little less of a chore when it gets really bleak."

Kristoff nodded somewhat stiffly, recognising that Elsa wasn't quite at ease—her more formal speech was a sure sign of it—and he rubbed his arms absentmindedly, glancing towards icy cabin door. "Well, if it's definitely okay with you, I'm gonna just head on inside…"

"Yes, of course. Go ahead, I'm quite okay out here." Elsa reached over to her niece, switching the saucepan into her other hand, and softly rubbed her shoulder. "Go on, little one; I'm quite alright on my own out here."

Mia frowned at her aunt's formality but nodded quietly and stood up, nearly slipping on the ice and grabbing her father's hand to stabilise herself. Laughing under her breath very slightly, she followed him inside, leaving her aunt out in the cold alone, the soft sea spray constantly coming over the edge of the ship and covering her skin in a fine coating of salty water. And as she sat there alone, with no one to see her, she finally let the tears run down her cheeks as well.

* * *

Hans bowed slowly as he entered the room, standing just to the side of the door so as to allow Ayla to follow in after him; she walked in briskly and curtsied, holding up the edges of her rose-red dress so that it didn't brush on the floor, and then she stood tall at her consort's side, hands folded neatly in front of her. In response the King, who had been the one to summon them, nodded his head and gestured to a chair.

"Please, have a seat," he said, waiting silently as his youngest son sat down immediately, not rushing but not hesitating to do his father's bidding either. Ayla perched gently on his knee, leaning back into him in an affectionate display. The King gave a small smile at the show, impressed at how his son had changed and rather pleased with the seemingly perfect wife he'd found for himself—though he did worry a little as to whether or not the woman could bear children.

After multiple years, he would have expected some sign of new life. Given that the laws had been changed, young Seth was still an heir despite being, as far as the King knew, not related to Hans and Ayla, but he thought that it would be nice to see the couple's true children running about the castle. Not that the boy would be a bad prince, but it did hurt the King's pride very slightly to have an 'intruder' in the royal family; nevertheless, if Ayla really was incapable of falling pregnant—he simply assumed her magic could not gift her with a child, for such a kind woman would surely have abused that ability if she could—then it would not be crippling for the family.

Unbeknownst to the King, his Queen was also watching the pair carefully, smiling at them with pursed lips. She had helped the little girl—the Norwegian one, Mia—to escape from the castle many years before, and remembered how harsh her punishment for that had been. And at the hands of her own son... That hurt, deep down to her core. It had been an utter betrayal, and no matter how much she smiled at him and forced herself to discuss casual happenings in fashion and the like with his almost too kind consort, she couldn't help the anger burning her from the inside out. Her husband was unaware of this, proud as he was of his youngest lad for all he and his wife had done to protect the kingdom; she, however, had not been fooled. She loved her son still, for she found it unimaginable to not adore one's own flesh and blood, but it was a love that would scar her poor, ageing heart and leave her weak.

Because no matter how selfish and cruel he was, no matter how ruthless or downright wicked, he was still her son. Her little baby boy.

And that was the worst torture anyone could bestow upon her. To watch her baby showered with praise and affection, when all the while he tortured and tormented and tracked innocent people, out to satisfy his insatiable lust for blood and power.

"You called me, Father?" Hans asked with as formal a tone as he could muster. Even if this man was his father, he was still his king also.

"Yes, my son. I have some rather important news which, I am sure, shall come as quite the pleasant surprise to you. And to your lovely wife, as well." The King sent a somewhat sultry look in Ayla's direction and she blushed crimson, turning her head away and hiding her face behind a lock of her fringe. So modest, seemingly not at all the sort of person who would simply climb into bed with any powerful, influential person whom she could bend to her will.

Not at all...

Of course, she was married to Hans now, so it would be extremely frowned upon—if it wasn't anyway—for her to do so. Not that she was that attracted by a grey haired old man, nearly double her age, anyway; on that note, though, if she'd had the opportunity of being mistress to the King before she'd met Hans, she'd probably have accepted. In the end, though, the wife of a prince—especially one as conniving and similar to herself as Hans—was much more powerful than the mere sex toy of the monarch.

"It is a matter of great importance which has lead me to call for you today, Hans." the King said, leaning back in his chair slightly and folding his legs. "Your brothers have all come to the agreement—together, might I add, without my influence—to split the Southern Isle into five seperate, smaller kingdoms; North, East, South, West and Central. Each is to be part of an alliance, and each shall be built up into its own power." He paused for a moment, playing with his small beard, before he continued to speak. "It is the plan that this way, with focus being placed on developing every smaller section, we will become a much more powerful country. For as strong as we were, we had neglected the outer regions, which is an easy but fatal trap to fall into."

"I am sorry, Father, but... Well, I fail to see where I fit in here? I do not mean to sound assumptuous, but I don't see that you would have both myself and my consort come to see you over a simple matter of an announcement. Surely an audience with just myself would have been enough?" Ayla nodded her head slowly, a curious expression painted on that flawless face; as much as her blood boiled at Hans' decision that she was not needed in the room, she recognised that she was still his "perfect" wife, and had to act as such.

"I am sorry to puzzle you so, my son," the King said, "but I am sure you will be just as happy as I with this arrangement. Since your brothers are now—or, should I say, will be—kings or princes of their own respective countries, you are now the sole prince of my section of the kingdom." He gave a smile at his youngest's sudden change in expression and chuckled a little. "Yes, this must seem quite nice. You have, of course, got the short straw, for your brothers will have much more ease in making their sections the way they would like. After all, they are not so built up yet as this central area, and if you did want to do some massive project... Well, it might take a little more work. But you will, when I do decide to hand the kingdom over, still have the freedom to do as you please. And besides—" The man's eyes glinted in amusement as he looked at Ayla, "Magic such as yours can do wonders anyway."

Hans and Ayla nodded in synchronisation, both looking at each other and grinning. "Now, I have many other matters to attend to, but I hope you are okay with this arrangement?" Seeing his son and daughter in law's grins, he laughed. "I knew you would be. Now, go and tell that boy of yours the good news; the kingdom shall possibly be his own too one day."

* * *

**I'm so so sorry it was late! I had planned for this to be longer but, alas, I was sick all of last night and couldn't write. Sorry!**

**Please review, you know I love it!**

**Luna**


	43. Chapter 43 - dedicated to Blackknght

_disneylover115: _**Glad you liked it**

_Pabulover123:_ **Haha, yes, I imagine it must feel like heaven to have some sort of normality in their lives ****again, mustn't it? Even if it is normality in a my-son-is-starving-to-death-slowly manner... And yes, Hans' mother is, sadly, the perfect Queen and mother. Not only is she submissive because of her past and the awful things her own son has done, but she can't bear to challenge that role either because she is a woman in the 19th century. Poor thing, I really feel for her actually.**

_Kathy2234_ (guest): **Yeah, poor Freddie :( it hurts me to write him so sick, all the kids are like my little children. (Gosh, how sad of me. Still, this fic has taken up two years of my life so, well, I guess it makes sense that I feel protective to the children. Ah, sort of) And both my goats and I are well, thanks for asking - I'm all over my ickiness the other night so hopefully this chapter will be longer!**

_KLime (guest):_ **Glad you liked the chapter, and don't worry, they do have a little bit else to eat than mashed potato (though it wouldn't be much more exciting). As for shorter reviews, I'm just glad you're still sticking around! It'd be a shame to lose you so close to the end :"(**

_anniGirl39:_ **Yep, King Hans of the Southern Isles! Hahaha!**

* * *

"Please, my dear, just a sip. The doctor said-"

"I know what the doctor said, dear wife," the King snapped, moaning after he did so and allowing his Queen to pull up his covers slightly, "but it will do nought but cause me to vomit some more. Put the cup down—I need only sleep."

The Queen frowned as she tentatively placed the glass of water back on the bedside table, watching her sickened husband with tear-stained cheeks and an aching, terrified heart. He'd fallen ill so suddenly; the night before he'd been quite at leisure, drinking wine as if there was no tomorrow and happily playing cards with his noble guests, celebrating the news of the separation of the country and the strengthening of the Southern Isles as a mighty empire rather than one single kingdom. As the night progressed, though, he'd had to retire early; by the time it reached midnight, he looked as if his time on the earth was up. He'd gotten much better since then, but now he was still awfully unwell, white as the winter snow, with eyes that appeared sunken and uninterested, and crease lines across his forehead, scarred from hours of constant distress. Not once had he gotten respite from the illness, and the Queen couldn't help but feel that he wouldn't achieve that goal either. He was just too sick.

"Please leave me be, dear," the King said, his words slurring together, "and go have yourself a good time. There are—" He paused for a moment and moaned, reaching for a glass bowl which was sat upon his beside table next to the water and he leaned his head over it. When it transpired that even to vomit would be too much of a relief, he groaned once more, pushed it back away—succeeding in sending the small glass of water crashing onto the floor as he did so and making his wife yelp—and looked back in her direction with squinted eyes. "There are celebrations to be organised, dear. Please, feel free to arrange them yourself; I am in no state to do so at present."

The Queen sighed as she bent down, cautiously picking up shards of broken glass, wincing as one finely sliced the skin of her ring finger. "If… If that is what you wish, my husband, then of course." she said, dabbing at her finger with a handkerchief to remove the fine droplets of blood. "I shall arrange for a ball for the nobles, and small fêtes for the villages. Would that do?"

"Yes, yes, that is—nnngh—fine. I am sure young Ayla would be more than happy to assist you…" Reaching, once again, for the bowl, he hung his head over it in anticipation and spoke slowly. "On which note, please send for Hans, too. The country will need a king to rule whilst I am… incapable. This would be a perfect assesment of his capabilities…"

"Are you sure Hans is… quite ready, dear? I… I'm not sure if he is quite mature enough yet, is all."

"Oh, for goodness sakes, woman!" the king chided in a somewhat weak voice, speaking a little louder than normal and making his head spin. With his head buried in the glass bowl, he didn't notice her gingerly rubbing her wrist, as if pained. "The lad's nearly… thirty five years old. He's no infant anymore, and he's had more than enough time to rethink his idiotic actions from—ugh—before."

Feeling slightly guilty at forcing her husband to continue to talk with her in his state, but even more terrified of what Hans would do as ruler—even a temporary one, until his father's (hopeful) recovery—if given the chance. "Couldn't… Could I not take over for a short while?" she suggested, looking at him hopefully from her vantage point on the floor as she continued to retrieve the glass. She wanted to trust her son, and his beautiful, captivating wife, but she simply couldn't. "I am your wife, and it is surely my duty, as such, to take over for you in times of strife and sickness?"

The king groaned and sent his wife a short glare. "My mind is made up. Please, please, stop complaining? It feels as if a tonne of gold's been dropped on my head, and your jabbering isn't helping any." Tenderly rubbing his brow at the comment, he drew back from his bowl and watched her firmly, though sweat rolled down his face despite his chilly body and his eyes were red and puffy. "Hans is perfectly capable of running a country—he's quite the gent now. So please, go and fetch him for me. And stop mucking about on the floor after the glass, I'll have a servant pick it up."

"But… I…"

"Go on, shoo. I'm feeling really quite sick, and extremely liable to snap. So just clear off before I yell, won't you? Besides, it wouldn't do for the whole kingdom—ugh, I feel like a rotting corpse, I'm so ill—to get sick because you've been spending too much time at my bedside."

Realising that there was nothing that she could do but obey, the Queen sighed as she stood up and nodded. "Okay, then, dear. If that is what you wish." Turning away quickly without so much as a 'goodbye', the Queen then fled from the room and out into the corridors. Brushing off the guards' constant fretting, she ran into her private room and collapsed in the armchair, sobbing.

The country was now under Hans' control. And there was nothing she could do to stop it.

* * *

"Won't you just try, Kiddo?" Kristoff pleaded, taking his daughter's hand and squeezing it. His fingers were slightly rough but reassuring all the same; still, poor Mia didn't feel all that much more confident afterwards. "Freddie needs you, or he won't eat. You know that."

"Papa, I can't. I... I just can't. " Mia said with a sob, turning her face away and twiddling with her fingers. "I really do want to help, but... Every time I try, I just end up thinking of the sailors and... And then I can't use my magic. It just fails."

"Oh, you silly girl..." Kristoff said as he bent down and pulled his daughter into a hug, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist, wishing that he could hold her forever. The poor child was, unfortunately, old enough to understand what was going on, but not nearly grown up enough to be able to hold such a massive weight upon her shoulders. She had, perhaps, seen more horrors than even the adults had.

Or, perhaps maybe Odd came close. Not only had he been imprisoned as the rest of them had, he had also been kidnapped as Mia had years before, tortured in order to get information whilst that imposter Dagvin had taken his place back in Arendelle, posing to be him all the while taking advantage of poor Elsa's naïvety to the situation. Kristoff shuddered at the thought; he couldn't imagine how he'd feel if another man took his place at Anna's side, slept with her while pretending to be the ever-loyal husband…

"Papa, help me?" Mia said with a shaky voice, looking to her father for wisdom. "Help me help Freddie, Papa—I don't want to kill more people... I don't want to hurt anyone else."

"Come on, Mia. Freddie's not going to die." Kristoff said, squeezing her shoulder despite knowing full well that if he didn't eat in the next few days, he would surely starve. "But if you wanna help him, he'd sure feel a lot better. It's up to you; leave him on his own, sick and weak, or help him get stronger by making him eat. It's really your choice." Despite feeling so awful at guilt tricking his daughter, he knew it was a painful necessity; after all, what was a little distress in exchange for a person's life? Indeed, the cruel tactic paid off; Mia's eyes widened in shock and shone with upset at the thought of making her cousin suffer by not helping out and quickly turned to him.

"Hold my hand, Papa?" she asked, reaching for her father with her left hand while opening the right, squeezing her eyes shut and concentrating. She felt a little of her stress dissipate as Kristoff held her small, perfectly-princess-y hands in his own, but her mind still fell into a state of panic not long after. The small snowflake which had begun to form instantly thawed away.

Glancing in her father's direction, Mia quickly looked away in shame, feeling as if she was a failure; an utter waste of space. She desperately fought to hold back the tears, but the struggle was of equal difficulty to fighting a war, and she looked at her cousin through blurred eyes as she tried to help once more. Again, it was all for nought; not even a puff of air could be formed, let alone one of her complex, highly intricate snowflakes.

_Come on, Mia,_ she thought firmly as her feelings of self-worth plunged even more, _Freddie_ _needs you. _

Ignoring the doubts which crept back into her mind once more Mia clenched her jaw as she focused on the (seemingly impossible) task at hand, letting go of her father as she brought her two palms together, hoping that doing so would give her extra control. And, to her delight and to Kristoff's, the gods had decided to be merciful and grant her wish; the small snowflake flickered into life in her palm, faster than it had before, giving her time to send it in the direction of her cousin before she felt the knocking of memories at her mind.

The sound of screams, muffled by her own concentration, and the crashing of waves, booming as they roared, hungry. And then there was the boat; the massive vessel, painted purple and red, which sink under the sea, it's bow reaching up to the sky for a moment before it slipped under.

Feeling the hard-earned snowflake begin to thaw once more Mia gasped and hastened to dispel the thoughts from her head, focusing instead on black. Nothing else, just the colour; black was safe. It couldn't make her think of anything bad.

Straining to keep her concentration, Mia could have almost sighed when the snowflake grew strong once more, floating over on the air lazily to Freddie and touching his cheek, where it melted instantly, the liquid seeping into his skin. Almost biting her tongue from the struggle, she then made sure that her thoughts were still blank and incapable of prompting other scenes before continuing to take hold of her cousin's mind. That stage, at least, was easy—he was so sick that to resist was hard. However, as she nodded to her father with closed eyes, she could feel her hold on him be pushed as he tried to resist the instruction to open his mouth, to eat. The poor lad had taken in no energy in days, though; he had not the strength to fight her for long and slowly, very slowly, his mouth opened.

And then Mia felt it; the poor boy's horror at having to eat, the sheer feeling ofwretchedness, and—just as she finished making him chew and swallow a mouthful of last night's potato—her hold on him broke. She collapsed, puffing and panting and looking at her hands in disgust, thinking more of the distress she'd caused him than the theory that by doing so, she would hopefully save his life.

Gratefully following her father back into the second cabin, all the while being showered with praise and reassurances that she'd done a good thing, not a wicked one, Mia sunk down on a patch of hay for a moment, before deciding that now was as good a time as any to go and see the animals. Rising, she peered around at her family before walking over to the door, her hand hovering above the handle. She faltered for a moment, suddenly apprehensive of going outside alone, but then a familiar pop reached her ears; startling momentarily, she noticed with wide eyes that her family had heard too. Giggling guiltily, she muttered softly "Oh, um, excuse me!" as a blush crept across her slightly freckled cheeks and then skipped outside.

Closing the door behind her, Mia soon around and glared at the boy before her; stood in the middle of the deck was the boy with the dangerous blue eyes, Seth. He gave an unsure smile and waved rather timidly; indeed, he had a right to be cautious, for the death glare Mia sent him would surely kill. "What are you doing here?" she hissed, her eyes darting about his body for fear that he was carrying anything out of the oripdinary. Potentially dangerous.

"I... I was scared, that is all. My Grandpa, he is very not well, and Hans is very worried. I did not want to stay there." Seth hung his head and kicked at the icy floor. "I'm sorry. I only wanted a friend."

Seeing his dejected little face, and already feeling awful about hurting her cousin, Mia sighed and turned her back on him, walking towards the stairs to the animals' cabin. Beckoning for him to follow—without looking back—she spoke quietly under her breath as she went. "You can stay for a bit, if you'll help me out in return." Grinning to herself, she continued on slowly. "I need chocolate, lots of it too. It's the only way I can get weight on Freddie."

Nodding eagerly, Sent grinned as he ran (or perhaps slipped) down the bottom stairs and threw himself on poor, unsuspecting Mia. "Okay, um..." Unable to think of a solution straight away, a brilliant idea struck him.

"Want some Turkish delight?"

Mia turned back in his direction and glared at him a little less coldly, the equivalent of friendship. "I'd love that. Thanks."

* * *

**Ah, so tired... Went out to a party tonight then Imhad a major breakdown because my bed was messy. It's been a hard night.**

**Luna**


	44. Chapter 44 - dedicated to Kathy22334

_Disneylover115: _**Yes, poor little Freddie needs to get well soon, but I'm afraid to say he hasn't got much more than a few days to live if he continues to get worse at this rate...**

_spartandestroyr:_ **Yeah, I guess they are essentially like my kids. (My sweet little Mia)**

_Pabulover123:_ **Poor little Mia, she does have it tough doesn't she? Her blessing of mind-control is a curse as well.**

_KLime (guest):_ **Yay, glad someone picked up on the word 'mucking', it was a very deliberate word choice. But I have had quite the... ah, experience with my animals. And I, for one, certainly can't imagine having to submit to being fed, as you put it; I like food too much. I'm honestly amazed I'm not as fat as a house.**

_WildVirus (guest):_ **Yes, Mia's seen more than most adults. And to think I planned this fic as a calm, sweet read...**

_Kathy22334 (guest):_ **Late reviews are fine, don't worry - in truth they actually give me a mid-week pick-me-up so it's quite nice. Anyway, you seem really quite suspicious of Hans and Ayla, are you sure they deserve that? ... Actually, no, go on and be suspicious. Those filth deserve it.**

_Guest (guest): _**Sweet Ayla having something to do with the king's sickness. Surely not... Thanks for the review.**

* * *

"Go on, get out of here." The girl spoke slowly, her reindeer snorting and bobbing her head at the same time. Mia's arms folded over her chest with a firm stature only betrayed by the slight trembling of her hands. It was rare to see her being so cold, but after talking to Seth for a little while, discussing his home life and the such, she had suddenly fallen afraid, feeling uncomfortable in his presence. She had been flattered, perhaps, that he told her everything he spoke of when he knew how much his 'family' scared her, knew that it could possibly drive her away... How Hans and Ayla had taken him in as a newborn, how they were strict but it was all for his own good.

The thought of those monsters acting almost civil just made her feel sick.

"Why?" Seth said with a whimper, his lower lip quivering sadly. He looked to Mia with puppy dog eyes; she just recoiled at the beautiful colour.

"Because you're making me feel uncomfortable" she replied, fiddling with her fingers nervously, "Your eyes... They look like Hans and Ayla's. They remind me of my past."

"Your past..?"

"Hans and Ayla hurt me. That is all I can say, now go away." Pausing for a moment, she quickly added, "But bring back some chocolate later, would you? I'll meet you down here, at midday."

"Chocolate, midday... Okay, Mia." Seth bobbed his head slowly, distraught that he had to return but happy to at least get a second chance to see the girl again. Even when she was bitter she was so nice to him, and she'd kept his secret from her family, too.

Why had she done that?

Brushing it off as the wooden door above creaked open, he gasped and allowed himself to change into the colours of his room, remaining for a fraction of a second before he disappeared, the last thing he saw being Mia's worried expression.

Landing in his room with a stumble, his concentration fractured by the child princess' expression, he tottered over to the bookshelf and reached out for his book of fairy tales, gently tracing a finger down its spine and pondering how much truth the story of the wicked Snow Queen held. Such a person as Mia could surely not be a relative of someone so evil as the witch in the tale, she was much too sweet.

Coming to wonder once more why she would protect him—if she hated him as she so rightly ought then she should have taken great pleasure in betraying him to her family. But she didn't. She had looked after him, made sure he wasn't hurt by her own mother and father and aunt and uncle by holding her tongue about his own parentage.

A sickening thought struck Seth at that moment; Mia had, in the boy's opinion, surely risked a good beating for holding back such important information, and yet here he was completely abusing her kindness by spying on her family. Because as evil as they may be, one's family were still the most important people in the world.

Seth wasn't even sure Mia's relatives were so cruel. Hans and Ayla had said such terrible things, had explained how the Arendelle royals were extremely good actors and simply pretended to be so sweet; how they just faked it all. But then that didn't seem to match his knowledge of them; he could see the genuine happiness in eachother's company, could recognise the way they laughed and chatted comfortably as a contented—if somewhat nervous now and then, as if a touchy subject had been approached—family unit.

Groaning at the sheer complexity of the situation and drawing away from the bookshelf, heading towards the door out to the hallway instead, his child's brain unable to think it all through, his thoughts wandered to what Mia had said about his eyes, a perfect mix between Hans' and Ayla's... Even at such a young age, Seth was well aware of the fact that he was a good looking lad; his hair was bright blonde and thick, his skin pale but not unhealthily so, his facial structure fairly strong for a child, and his eyes... He knew they were pretty, he'd been told so many a time (though, strangely, not once by his adopted parents). And yet Mia saw them as something terrifying; a perfect mix of Ayla and Hans' eye colours, as if that was possible.

How could that be possible? Little Seth wasn't actually related to them; any similarities—his hair, so equal in likeness to Ayla's, for example—were surely either coincidence or some sort of magical adjustment.

Yes, that would be it; perhaps his adoptive mother just wanted him to be more like a real son, so simply made him look more like her. That was perfectly logical conclusion; why shouldn't she want to use her magic to—

Having walked partway down the corridor, his feet leading him in the direction of the drawing room where he knew his adopted parents, as well as Hans' visiting brother and his wife, were waiting, talking quietly and fretting over the king's wellbeing, Seth began to slow down as he walked, before jolting to a stop. Freezing, something massive hit him.

Magic.

What other person in the kingdom had powers, other than Ayla? She was the only one Seth knew about.

Collapsing onto the floor with trembling legs, Seth pulled his legs closer and began to rock himself, suddenly hurt. Could it be... Could it be that Ayla, the perfect princess, the pride and joy of the Southern Isles... Was his real mother?

Shaking his head, Seth moaned. _Maybe she just transferred powers to me when she took me in,_ he thought desperately, noticing immediately the obvious issues in such a statement—she'd never given magic to anyone, not even Hans, which surely suggested that she physically couldn't—but ignoring them, desperate for the small hope which came with the blatant lie. _It's all okay, nothing's changed. Everything's fine..._

And, his strained five year old mind unable of accepting such a radical, life-changing realisatiom, he continued to rock as his body was racked with sobs, his world crashing down around him. Everything he knewj, his perfect world with his perfect family, the people who had saved his life as an abandoned newborn, began to slowly crumble apart.

_Everything's okay... Nothing's changed... _Clutching onto the material of his shirt like a babe would a muslin cloth, Seth gripped on tightly and prayed that he could just wake up from this horrid nightmare.

But, of course, he couldn't. This wasn't some bad dream; this was the horrid reality where potentially everything he'd ever been told, where all the values held been taught to uphold were just one big lie.

* * *

"I'm sorry, brother, but I can't help feeling... Well, a little skeptical." The older prince, soon to be king of his own newly-founded country, watched his younger sibling's expression firmly, his mouth a tight line. "Your actions, so very ruthless, before in Arendelle have left me with a rather unfavourable opinion of you."

"I was young and power hungry then, Arvid." Hans spoke with a razor tongue, his words scathing and, to his credit, his companion allowed him to speak. Ayla, stood by his side, gently took his hand and squeezed it, giving him a pointed glance as if to remind him not to be too rash. Across from them, the older prince and his wife, a foreign Finnish beauty, both stood silently, the latter looking nervously at her husband, who was looking rather displeased. "You know that as well as I; my actions were wrong, incredibly so, but I have changed since then. When have you once seem me doing anything even remotely selfish or ruthless in the years since I've been out of prison which, may I add, helped me to amend my ways. Seeing what it was like to live as the common scum do... It shocked me into understanding the monster I'd become."

"You cannot deny me suspicion, Hans," Arvid sneered, his eyes narrowed. "Our father was fine last night, Mother told me, yet he descended into this sickness so rapidly. It is a rather questionable situation."

"You think I made him sick, just like that?" With raised eyebrows and a disapproving expression, Hans laughed bitterly. "That is absolutely ridiculous thinking, brother; borderlining on insanity even!"

"Of course not, you dolt," Arvid said as he let out a short breath, fists clenched slightly. "I am suggesting, rather, that you perhaps poisoned the man—don't you dare to interrupt me—in an attempt to have the throne as your own."

Hans snarled slightly as his eyes flashed in anger at the accusation, but he stayed in place; Ayla, however, stepped forwards immediately, her expression one of pure rage. "Why, you wicked man, to accuse my poor husband of such things!" she cried, looking genuinely hurt and offended. "Maybe he has made mistakes in his time, but to do such a thing to his own family; such an allegation is incredibly hurtful, and I am horrified that you think so poorly of my dear! What person in their right mind would go to such levels, to murder one's own parent!"

"Ayla!" Hans scolded, gripping her wrist quickly and pulling her back towards him, glaring down at her; she whimpered quietly in response and looked away, a shamed blush gracing her cheeks as she murmured a quiet apology. Hans nodded once in an authoritative manner and turned back to his brother, his teeth gritted but his voice very nearly stable. "Forgive her, she has had a hard time with the situation. She has already lost her own mother, father and brother at the hands of wicked; she's rather sensitive towards the subject." Turning to the woman, he smiled warmly and pushed her away towards the door; Ayla went willingly, though she looked back over her shoulder in a little puzzlement. "Go, woman; my brother and I must talk."

Nodding curtly, Arvid turned to his own wife. "Follow my brother's consort, Kaisu. Let us be."

"But, my dear—" the woman began to protest, her Finnish accent thick, but was quick to recognise that this was no situation for her; despite her wishes to help out, what use was a woman as she in the midst of a heated men's argument, especially one between brothers? Reluctantly drawing back, she walked over to Ayla nervously, one hand stiffly at her side and another resting gently on her stomach, and gave her a stiff smile with malicious eyes, walking—behind her all the while, not stupid enough to stand with her back to her enemy—out of the room.

Once the women had departed from the room (though Hans was sure that Ayla was, most likely, listening in with her magic), the brothers' attention snapped back to each other, Arvid glaring at his younger sibling who, in response, looked back with a much-better-hidden distaste. Of all of his family, only the prince in question now still saw the youngest man as dangerous; the rest had developed respect for him, though this admiration was not something which he deserved. He knew this, but that was fine with him; to play dirty was the best way to achieve one's goals.

"Now listen up, Hans," Arvid growled, green eyes flashing. "I don't trust you at all, and unlike the rest of our brothers, I am not going to be fooled by your façade. I have no way to prove whether or not you did poison Father, but poisoning is the only reasonable conclusion that I can think of. And you are the perfect candidate for the culprit."

"I can assure you, on my honour—"

"That means very little to me. You have no honour, only great shame. You can't even sire a child; you are not only a pathetic, unacceptable excuse for a prince, but a failure of a man as well."

With slightly flushed cheeks, anger starting to bubble through his emotional shields, Hans snarled, "My wife is not ready for such trauma. We are perfectly contented with our adopted son." Folding his arms in an attempt not to lash out, he continued in his grating voice, "But, as I was saying, on my honour, I did not poison Father. I do not know who, though some of the servants, and I cannot tell particulars, have been somewhat restless recently."

Arvid huffed and turned away, his posture that of a spooked stallion; Hans eyed him carefully, sensing the danger of his angered brother's proximity. Once the issues concerning Arendelle were resolved—something which would happen soon, with the arrival of the kingdom's new Queen—disposing of Arvid would have to be a priority. Perhaps he could be poisoned, for the irony would be sweet.

"I am not a cruel man anymore, brother—" said Hans, praying that his senior would listen, "—I am a husband and a father, and as such I have learned my lesson entirely. At any rate, please consider what I said. In the meantime, I will consult my wife and see if there is anything she can do to cure father, or at least make his suffering less."

"You are a serpent, Hans," Arvid said, turning and walking to the door. His pride would not allow him to finish a conversation without having the last word. "No disguise or scheme, no matter how intricately planned and woven, can ever change that." Before the younger could have a chance to respond, Arvid swept himself from the room, leaving Hans alone.

Damn, he cursed, fists clenched. He's going to be trouble one of these days.

* * *

Seth's head shots up as footsteps, the distinctive noise of heels on the wooden floor of the hallway, sounded around him, before he hung his head once more and sighed. There was too much going on; his brain hurt. He could have sworn a headache was forming; right on cue, his forehead burned and he moaned, burying his face in between his knees further.

"Seth! Whatever is the matter, why are you crying out here?"

Seth's heart sunk as Ayla's voice—that sweet, angelic-sounding voice—filled his head, and when he peeked up he could see her walking towards him calmly, a gentle smile on her face. Behind her a second woman—one of Hans' many sisters-in-law, he recognised her as—came rushing forwards too, a look of concern upon her face as she watched Ayla unsurely.

"Seth, why are you sad?" Ayla whispered as she bent down to his level, cupping his chin in her delicate, slender hands, stroking softly. The touch was pleasant, to be sure, but it was an action which she would rarely give him normally—only when in company. As if her usual actions were shameful.

When he didn't respond, Ayla's eyes narrowed slightly but she maintained the loving expression. "Are you worried for Grandpa?"

Deciding that was as good a reason as any, Seth nodded silently but looked away quietly, feeling a little upset when Ayla did draw back and then feeling sickened at himself for feeling that way.

She had lied to him.

"Don't worry about the King, Seth," she said, standing and dusting her dress off slightly. "He will be fine; go on, off to your room. Go and play, the adults are busy today."

With his head hung and looking like a dog with its tail between its legs, Seth nodded mutely and stood up, looking at Ayla fearfully for a moment before turning away; he began to walk, but then a second later he felt a soft hand wrap around his wrist, much gentler than he was used to. Turning back around, he saw the smiling face of the other woman, warm and loving. Behind her Ayla scowled, but she did not complain.

"You do your jobs; I'll take your son to his bed chambers," she said with a small, forced smile. "It won't take me long though I have nothing to do, and Lord knows I'll need the practice, anyway."

"Yes, okay," Ayla said stiffly, glancing down at Seth worriedly—what Kaisu didn't know, through no fault of her own, was that the sorceress was not concerned for his wellbeing, but rather that he could let something slip. Reminding herself that he hadn't told anyone of his mission yet, and that he knew the consequences of disobeying, she relaxed somewhat and nodded. "But if you dare to so much as scratch him..." she added on an afterthought, pleased with the Finnish woman's approving smile; she'd bought it, as Ayla'd known she would.

Watching the blonde depart, the woman then bent down and lifted Seth up carefully, one arm under his shoulder blades and another nearer to his legs; holding him close to her chest for support and comfort, for the child seemed put off at being held in such a fashion—or being held at all for that matter—she began to walk back to his room, crooning all the while under her breath.

And Seth, whose brain was exhausted from so much pondering and pain, settled down quickly, enjoying the warmth of the woman's body, soothed by her steady heartbeat and calmed by her gentle rocking. And, by the time Kaisu had carried him to his bedroom, he was completely asleep, head nestled into her breast like a pillow, his arms wrapped limply around her back.

"Sweet dreams, little prince," Kaisu whispered softly as she covered him over, tenderly tucking him in in a way which he'd rarely felt before.

For the first time in forever, Seth wouldn't have a nightmare; in fact, he would dream of simply having a family, a real family, and throughout the Finnish beauty was there to ward off the evil sorceress and her cruel, sadistic consort.

* * *

**Yay, updated on time! I really hope you like it, it was quite an important one.  
**

**Please review! I'll love you all!  
**

**Also, any fellow writers here, PieChan34-Creations on DeviantArt is working on a book called "No hidden words" designed to support beginner writers, she needs writers to help out with writing it! (Because that is what us writers do best!) If you have a DeviantArt account (or if you just make a new one!) message me on there (Aeluna) and I can give you a link to the sign up.**

**\- Luna**


	45. Chapter 45 - dedicated to Klime (guest)

_disneylover115: _**Yep, the truth's out! And I must say, Kaisu would make a much better mother than Ayla; on that note, though, I quite like Ayla as a villain. She's fun to write!**

_kathy22334: _**Oh, you've got an account! Yay! Anyway, as you say Arvid had better be careful, he's right to be suspicious of his brother. But as for whether Seth would confront his parents about... well, being his parents... No, I don't think so. Not yet at least; he's scared and confused, and to talk to them now would only make things worse. (And hehe, maybe one day we'll see some MiaxSeth action, wonder what that ship name would be called... Sia? I guess?) **

_KLime (guest):_ **Glad it was a good chapter, I was a little skeptical at first. It's nice to know the big realisation met your expectations, and I'm happy that the new characters are welcome. Kaisu won't be all that important, but Arvid may have a role to play later on. (And yes, his attitude is fun, I like having people put him down a notch!) And hehe, sorry, I really couldn't resist. For the first time in forever is an important part of the whole frozen universe! What sort of fanfic writer would I be if I neglected that?**

_Pabulover123:_ **Glad you liked the expansion of the kingdom!**

* * *

"Seth? Seth, wake up, little one."

Gentle words, almost melodic sounding, roused the young prince from his peaceful slumber, his shocking eyes opening slowly, threatening to close with every second. Sitting up and yawning, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he did so, he peered at the welcome intruder through blurred vision and gave a small smile. For a moment, he managed to pull it off; soon, though, it ended up morphing into a second, even bigger yawn and the woman before him gave a small giggle.

"Uh... G'mornin', Kaisu," he said with a hint of slurring in his voice, smiling sheepishly. "Wha' you doin' here?"

Kaisu laughed a little more and rubbed Seth's head gently, reaching behind him and pulling him out of bed. "My husband and I are off, now," she said, and her heart dropped a little at her nephew's suddenly saddened expression. "We have a kingdom to run, sadly. But I promise you, we'll be back at Easter time, okay? It's only a few months."

Seth groaned loudly, almost imitating a theatrical performer. "Oh, that's forever!" he cried, before his face began to scrunch up in distress. "I... I'll miss you, I dont want to be alone..."

Kaisu laughed as she gave the little boy a hug. "Oh, you silly billy, you won't be alone. Your mama and papa will still be here, and all the nobles' children to play with."

Seth shook his head sadly, his messy bed-head, so different to his usually straight and neat hair, flying everywhere. "They're just Ayla and Hans, I'm not allowed to call them that." he admitted, looking away from his aunt sadly and focusing on the covers of his bed. As he felt the camouflage begin to drip down his body, however, he quickly looked back; it had been drilled into him never to let anyone know. Little Mia had already experienced it; he'd slipped up enough already.

But then, why should he keep it a secret, other than for the reason that it was Ayla's bidding? Because he hardly felt any loyalty to her these days; after realising the truth, he'd lost his respect for the woman and her consort. That wasn't to say he wasn't scared of them though; in fact, he was terrified.

"And I can't play with the children in the village, either," he continued, mumbling a little at the end, saddened. These past few days with Kaisu, who'd always been so very kind and gentle with him, had been perhaps the best in his short life, but they'd also shown him how deprived he'd been. Once, he thought that Ayla and Hans only kept him in for his safety; while he still believed that, he couldn't help but wonder whether it was partly to control him as well. "I used to play with my cousins in the castle, but... Well, now I can't. 'Cause they're all gone."

"Oh, you poor thing," Kaisu said, placing a kiss on her nephew's cheek. "But your ma—no, Ayla and Hans—are surely only doing it to keep you safe. A parent always worries for their son's safety, after all."

"I don't know," Seth mumbled with a childish pout, looking away. "I just think they're mean; they don't like me."

"If they didn't like you, would they have taken you in as a baby?" Kaisu prompted, clearly thinking that she'd made an incontestable arguament; upon hearing her words, however, Seth's heart and spirits only fell more.

"No," he mumbled, understanding that if he told this woman, this poor woman who stood before him happily, not comprehending the pain she was causing him by leaving, then Hans and Ayla would surely be furious. Or at ay rate, Kaisu probably wouldn't believe him. He almost wasn't sure what was worse; to be scolded, perhaps rather painfully, by his already unpleasant parents—a word which, he realised, had a literal meaning now in his case—or to lose the favour of the woman who had been his friend for the last few days. In some ways, he couldn't help but fear the latter more. Pain was nothing, really—nothing he wasn't used to anyway—but to be left completely without someone to trust—ignoring Mia, for she was the enemy of his family, and he'd never be able to spend time with her properly—in this brutal world… He'd always managed before, since no matter how little time they spent with him, and how much of that time consisted often of harsh glares or scolding, Hans and Ayla had always been on his side.

Now, he was completely alone, except for Kaisu and Mia, both of whom were 'off limits' so to speak anyway. The only hope Seth held was that perhaps he could visit his aunt's new country sometimes, to perhaps stay. If he sucked up to her enough, perhaps he could even stay for a long time! Until Hans and Ayla died might be nice; that would be pushing it a little though.

Kaisu, not realising her nephew's intense distress, patted his head gently and smiled, picking his up so that he was sat just above her small bump. She took his hand and placed it on the top of her stomach, not sure whether he would understand the gesture or not.

He didn't.

"Tell you what, sweetheart," she said, smiling. "You can play with my new baby, one day? Perhaps my husband would grant us permission to come up here for a week and you two could play together."

"But… You don't have a baby. None of my cousins are yours."

Kaisu laughed and pressed Seth's hand more firmly against her stomach. "You feel that fat bit?" she said, gleeful and at ease. "In there is a baby, and in about five months or so it'll be born. And then you two can be friends, okay?"

As the Finnish Princess—soon to be Danish Queen—let her control over her voice slip in her happiness in that moment, Seth noticed in that Finnish accent again and it got him thinking. Why on earth his uncle had wanted to marry a foreign princess he couldn't quite imagine—having to learn someone else's language seemed a little frustrating for something as trivial as a marriage which, as he had been taught by Hans, was nothing more than a means to get power—but then he remember how two of his other uncles had foreign consorts; if he remembered correctly, one of them was Austrian, actually. It then occurred to him that he and Mia were friends (or he liked to think they were) despite the language barrier; however, that point was quickly brushed aside as being irrelevant, since marriage was only about power, not happiness. In the end, Seth simply settled with leaving the thought a mystery and instead addressing his aunt once more.

"There's a baby in there?" he asked with a curious frown, sliding down from her grasp and then prodding at the bump gently. Chaise gave a small squeak at the action and laughed as Seth continued, "It's pretty small, isn't it? I can't play with something that small."

"Oh, you muppet!" she teased, pinching his cheeks gently with affection. "He or she'll grow, don't worry. And then you can play with them."

"Oh." Seth said, pondering over the new information and wondering whether his grandfather, being slightly larger than most as he was, had a baby inside of him too. "Okay then."

"Good boy," Kaisu praised, and she kissed his cheek once more. Seth beamed at the affection, and reached forwards for one more, which she was happy to oblige. "Gosh, you're a little sweetie, you know that?"

"Ayla and Hans call me a pain normally," he uttered, the words slipping out before he could stop himself. However, rather than looking appalled the princess only laughed more. It seemed she was quite at her merry in his company.

"Oh, all parents say that, Seth. Take no notice, they love you really."

_No they don't, _Seth thought bitterly, but managed to hold his tongue this time, smiling as sweetly as he could and nodding (though his eyes were starting to tear up). "Well, okay then," he said reluctantly, before looking out of the window of his bedroom, noticing the fine horses—a gorgeous pair of black friesians, with beautiful flowing manes and tails and glossy coats, imported all the way from Holland—and a stunning royal blue and black landau carriage waiting below. "That's yours, isn't it? You're really going?"

"I'm afraid so, Seth." Kaisu said, but she took his hand and led him away from the window. "Now, I really must be on my way; my husband will surely be mad if I stall any longer." Pausing and considering something for a moment, she then bent down and smiled. "Come on, you can wave me off. And then you can write me a letter, in your very best handwriting, with ideas for names for your new cousin. Yes?"

"I… I guess so." Seth said with a sigh, looking away from his aunt slightly but following her all the same, disheartened that she still had to leave. She hadn't even offered to take him with her. He supposed that had been more wishful thinking than anything, though.

Though Kaisu tried to make conversation a few times during the trip down the corridors, Seth felt suddenly unethusiastic, only wanting to shut himself away and cry; he managed little more than a few uttered words and some mumbled nonsense. But he was a prince—a true heir to the throne, in fact—and he wasn't allowed to do such things. Even a five year old prince had to be strong; apologising once he reached the main entrance hall for being so rude, though Kaisu was quick to promise that she understood that he was just sad, he stood awkwardly in the middle of the room while the soon-to-be-Queen went to join her husband, pecking his cheek and then taking his hand, pulling away soon after. Gesturing to Seth, she smiled warmly as she opened her spare arm welcomingly. Though he was a little unsure, he eventually gave in and walked over stiffly, letting her wrap her arm around him and pull him close. Just as he was beginning to settle, though, he felt a larger, somewhat rougher hand around his shoulders and he stiffened once more; a low chuckle sounded and Seth looked up timidly, shying away a little.

"Hey, lad. It's okay, I promise. I don't bite." Arvid spoke slowly and calmly, ruffling the child's hair as Kaisu urged him to go closer, nodding in reassurance. "I've got to steal my lovely wife away and take her home, I'm afraid. But—hey, hey, don't whine—maybe you can come and see us at some point? Sweet Kaisu here is rather eager to have you over, and I must say that I'd quite like to see you too. Teach you some proper manly skills, unlike your father can. He's quite a jerk, really."

"Arvid!" Kaisu scolded, frowning warningly. "You oughtn't to speak badly of Hans, your nephew respects-"

"No I don't!" Seth cut in quickly, a tear glistening in his eye. Seeing the slight frown creep onto his uncle's face, he quickly turned from him and brushed it away, unwilling to betray his weakness. Arvid seemed approving of him up until this point; he was afraid to give him a reason not to like him. "I... I mean, he is just a bit strict. He hits me."

"Seth, sweetie," Kaisu said gently, her brow creased though she tried to look firm. "Sometimes parents have to do that. If you're really naughty, they have to tell you off."

Arvid, his mouth a tight line, nodded stiffly. "That's true, mate. It's not nice, but that's what happens if you are bad. My father did the same to my brothers and me."

Seth whimpered quietly and hung his head, looking away. He knew that he hadn't been bad enough to warrant the many punishments he received, but he couldn't try to explain that to his aunt and uncle; nodding, he began fiddling with his fingers timidly but remained silent.

"I'll write your paren-"

"Hans and Ayla." Seth cut in quickly, though he shrunk back nervously at his uncle's surprised glance. "They don't like me to call them Mama and Papa." he explained in a small voice this time, and Arvid nodded, grunting as if to say, 'no surprises there'.

"Hans and Ayla, then. I shall write to them when I return to my own kingdom and suggest a time for you to come and visit our new land. I do fear my wife will never forgive me if I don't."

"I certainly wouldn't," Kaisu replied, giving a small giggle just as a low cough sounded from the doorway, where an increasingly impatient guard was stood waiting.

"Pardon me, your highnesses," he said, trying not to let frustration seep into his voice, "but if we are to miss the rain we must leave now; if we are lucky, we might just make it past the dirt tracks, which would surely turn to bog, and onto proper paved roads once more before the heavens open upon us."

Though Seth honestly wished the rain would start now and his aunt and uncle (the former especially) would be forced to stay, given that the muddy dirt tracks joining the main town to the smaller villages would be near impossible to trudge through when bogged down, he knew that he couldn't stop them going. With a sigh, he gave both adults a large hug before stepping back and watching them leave, hand in hand (with Kaisu's spare one resting atop her stomach), for the carriage. They departed with just a small parting wave, and as Seth scampered over to the door to watch them go, he felt his hope trotting away with them.

He needed support more than ever now.

Turnign around, he closed the main door quietly and began to trudge back across the main entrance hall, his ffpeet scuffing on the floor, when a harsh voice reached his ears.

"Seth!" Ayla's voice, angelic sounding at first but devilish to anyone who knew her true intentions, rang out cold and clear through the large room. She was incredibly good at projecting herself; she was the perfect example of a prince's consort. "Come with me."

Seth gulped audibly and lowered his head once he got over the initial terror of being a deer in the lamplight; trying not to burst into tears, feeling considerably weak and feeble, he followed obediently and tried not to rile his mother up any more. After all, if she'd heard what he'd said to Arvid and Kaisu—and with her powers, he had no doubt that she _could_ listen in—then he was in the doghouse enough as it was.

* * *

Elsa scanned the horizon in silence, eyes fixed on one point. Behind her there was nothing but a vast expanse of sea, never ending and somewhat intimidating to look at, cloaked by a wall of cloud so thick that the entire sky looked miserable; up ahead, though, there was nothing but blue. There were only a few puffy white clouds in sight, perhaps escapees of the larger formation, and a bright March sun which bore down on the world.

Though little warmer than the February one, the thought that spring was coming was a nice one. Elsa couldn't help but hope—a foolish thing to do indeed in such times of darkness— that Easter this year would hold significant meaning; that this whole thing would be over and done with and, by April the twenty third, the family could enjoy the celebration in the comfort of their own kingdom, without the threat of mad sorcerers and fathers hunting them down.

Oh, how lovely it would be.

Letting her eyes settle on the land in the distance, she frowned as she unknowingly moved her hand to rest upon her bump, rubbing it softly as she tried to approximate the distance; deciding it must be able 2 miles or so away, she smiled as she gave the lacking breeze a little assistance, making a small wind of her own to propel the small ship forwards. She was careful not to make too much power, for fear that in her haste she would end up capsizing the ship, but she managed to work up a reasonable amount of speed. She would have liked to estimate about five knots or so, but she wasn't experienced enough in sailing to know for sure.

Walking inside her and Odd's cabin, where little Mia was sat laboriously at her cousin's side, Elsa smiled stiffly at her in fearful appreciation and walked over to the bed, sitting down silently. It had been just four days since the royals had left the little Danish island, but it had been enough time for the infection to really take over Freddie's body. Though he'd been getting enough to eat (thanks to his cousin's mind controlling abilities) it hadn't been enough. The day before he had begun to drift off, his heart rate falling to just forty precious beats or so per minute; though non of the royals knew the figure which should it be, checking it against Thomas' found that he was dangerously low.

And so, it had been Mia who had stepped up then; using her abilities on him once more, she had managed to force his heart to beat faster, forced him to stay alive. It was a worthy cause—they were now less than an hour from Corona, where Elsa held hope that little Eva could save her son—but it had been incredibly taxing for poor Mia. She'd not slept a wink all night, for fear that he would die if she left him for even a minute, and it had taken a lot of her strength to both eat and keep her hold over the boy's body. There was absolutely no way that she could make him eat, to say the least. And by now, the poor princess was almost ready to collapse, but though everyone felt bad about making her suffer so, it was that or lose Freddie.

"We're nearly there, Mia," Elsa said gently, walking over and handing her a small chocolate. The little boy—Seth, his name was—had supposedly given them to the princess before she left (though where the lad found the money to buy it Elsa had no idea). Still, Mia had donated them to Freddie, considering that he needed the energy the most; now that he was not being forced to eat, however, they were useless. Elsa could only hope the sugar might wake her niece up a little more; she hated seeing her suffering so.

"Mmhmm," Mia mumbled quietly, unable to find the energy to try to speak properly as she opened her mouth and accepted the chocolate desperately, just as her stomach began to growl. Almost nodding off as she chewed, she slapped her own cheek rather forcibly—much to Elsa's horror—and then returned her concentration to her cousin, holding her eyes open with her fingers.

Trying not to watch her niece too much, feeling guilt welling up in her chest rapidly—and a desire to buy the child as many turkish delight as could fit in their home castle—she opened her palms and allowed a tiny ice bird to materialise there, creating it slowly in an attempt to get it to talk. She knew that she could make her snow creations speak, but the more intricate ones were strangely tougher. Indeed, the creature only let out little chirps as it looked around in confusion; quickly thawing it before she could grow attached, she opened her palms once again (after taking a second to regain her breath) and allowed a small snowball to form. A second, smaller ball formed on top which extended into a long, delicate point, and two large, flat extensions grew from the upper 'body' of the creation. Two dainty ice legs then extended from the base, unfolding into dainty claws at the ends. A longer flat appendix sprouted from the base of the body, and then, after some tweaking to make her creation more lifelike she added the finishing touches; life.

The bird, much less streamlined and looking more like a big ball of snowy feathers than its predecessor, looked around quickly as it ruffled and then flapped its wings, dancing on the spot on its icy feet. Hopping up, it flapped desperately but gained no elevation; after a quick adjustment from its 'mother', however, the wings were large enough to give it lift and it flew a little ungainly around the room, crashing into little Mia's head at one point and making her smile weakly, something her aunt was pleased about; letting the creature amuse her niece for a few seconds, she then whistled and held out her hand, smiling as the bird flapped over wobbly and landed on her finger, claws gripping on so that it didn't fall.

"Woah..." it muttered in a somewhat squeaky voice, and then it froze, shocked at the sound of its own voice. Elsa laughed quietly.

"Hey there," she muttered, softly stroking the bird's head feathers. It gave a few short chirps before focusing on her once more as she spoke again. "I need a favour. Can you fly to the kingdom in the distance and find the Queen? She's got short brown hair and should be in the castle."

"Kingdom... Queen... Castle..." The bird was quiet for a moment before it chirped once again in affirmation. "Yeah, yeah, I can do that!"

"Thank you," Elsa replied, smiling once again. "I need you to tell the Queen that Queen Elsa and her family are alive and that they are coming now. Meet her at the southern westernmost beach in... say, half an hour."

"Okay, okay!" the bird squawked, flapping up and then flying around the room as fast as it could, swerving sharply and heading towards the door and misjudging, crashing into the wall and squawking. Crashing down to the floor with a thud, Elsa gasped and began to hurry over; the bird, however, seemed unfazed, jumping up one one leg, hopping twice and then taking off out of the open door.

* * *

Ayla glared at her son, but her expression was nothing compared to that of Hans'; Seth whimpered as he backed away quietly, deeming the roaring, crackling fire much safer to be around.

"How dare you say such things about me!" Hans snarled, stalking forward with a wolf-like gait. "I am a man of honour, and you shame me. I have a reputation to uphold, and I will not have it ruined by your stupid, exaggerated comments."

Seth whimpered again, and full on cried out when his father grabbed his wrist. He felt his panic begin to rise as the familiar feeling of water trickling down his head came over him, his camouflage beginning to take effect; Hans snarled when he noticed and gripped his son's wrist ever tighter, reaching down into the pocket of his trousers and pulling out a small, sharp blade.

Seth screamed in horror and felt the camouflage pour over him in a wave; Hans snarled when he realised and immediately thrust his hand forwards, the blade cleanly slicing the child's hand just as he vanished, blood coating the tip of the knife.

"Hans!" Ayla cried, aghast, as Seth reappeared behind her, blood dripping from the wound. Tears streamed down his face as he yelled in pain, his hand nestled against his body, and he ran to his mother, launching himself at her leg and clinging on, her dress soaked by his tears. "Eww! Seth, get off of me! Now!" Kicking her leg out like an angered mare, Ayla glared at him evilly as she waved her hand, slowing the bleeding of her son's hand (though not healing it any more than clotting the blood). All that was left was a strange, swirling laceration, an unnatural pattern caused by magic and blades.

Seth whimpered terrified as he looked up at his furious parents with large, shining blue eyes, reflected red in the firelight. "Now you listen up, brat," Hans snarled, re pocketing his blade. "You stop this behaviour now, and you do as you're told. Elsa you'll be seeing a lot more of this blade, got it?"

Seth looked up at his mother pleadingly, desperate for the sympathy which he so deserves but did not receive. Hanging his head at the scolding glares from both parents, he looked away in both pain and anguish. "I'm so sorry," he murmured, refusing to meet their gaze and thinking all the while one thing only.

_Kaisu and Arvid would never do this to me._

Thomas grinned as he surveyed the kingdom. Everything was going to plan; other than the mishap with the royals escaping—which would surely be fixed soon anyway—things were perfect. The new queen should be arriving within the week, which would help calm the villagers who were starting to lose faith, and all the while he would still be in complete control of the kingdom. To think, he'd come so far and he hadn't even done anything illegal.

Well, almost.

* * *

**Woo, I'm at a sleepover but still managed to get the chapter finished and published! Yay! And it's a super long one as well—so after the outrageous lack of reviews last chapter, you guys owe me especially. **

**Hope you liked it anyway!**

**Luna**


	46. Chapter 46- dedicated to blackknght

_KLime (guest): _**Glad you liked the chapter, and yes, Hans is really spiralling out of control again. First Elsa nearly having her head chopped off, and now Seth's hand... Wow, the power's getting to his head again. And glad you liked the little bird, he's sort of like my friends in the morning too!**

_blackknght: _**Yes, Hans is getting extremely confident again. But as you say, someone will have to pick up on it sooner or later. Still, he's quite an intimidating man to stand up to, especially when it's well known fact that his consort has magical powers. Even if most of the Southern Isles think she's an absolute angel. As for whether he'd run away, he's pretty limited since he can only teleport to places which he's visited before, or otherwise has some sort of reference of. And yes, it's quite a relief to let the Royals breath again.**

_kathy22334:_ **Hope your oral went okay, and thanks for the review!**

_Pabulover123:_ **Yep, there's still someone who loves Seth at least...**

* * *

"Nearly there, Mi," Anna said gently, stroking her daughter's head with a tender touch, unaware that such an action was merely making the child even more sleepy until she moved away slowly, brushing her mother's hand away, yawning. "Oh, sorry." Anna mumbled in response, blushing a little and handing over the last chocolate instead; they'd surely be able to get more in Corona. Come to think of it, they'd even be able to get such luxuries as sandwiches when they arrived, something which Anna was truly excited for. Ignoring the he traditional danish bread which Ole and Sadie had so generously given them—which had been, though edible, rather unpleasant—she hadn't had a proper sarnie in at least a month.

A small thud sounded at the door of the cabin at that moment, and Elsa hurried to open it, letting her little snowy bird back into the room. Chirping loudly, he zoomed around twice before crashing into his "mother's" shoulder, struggling to keep the height he'd obtained as he chittered away nervously. "Sorry, sorry!" he said, flying up with suddenly heavy wings and then sitting on her head tiredly, nestling into her soft hair as he spread his snowy feathers over her. Seier, laying at the other end of the cabin, snarled at him and watched with beady eyes, nose crinkled in distaste and he only settled when Thomas scratched him under his chin, instead resorting to wagging his tail happily. And to think he was born to be a malicious, unforgiving wild animal; the way he'd settled in over the years, one would never think he was anything other than an especially wolfish husky dog. "Phew, that was a longer journey than it looked."

The remainder of the inhabitants—with the exception of Mia, who'd seen the creature before—looked at the strange chirping ball of snow in amusement, Anna full on guffawing at one point. "Oh, so this is the messenger you were talking about!" she cried as she doubled over, her loud voice even waking Mia up a little. "I wasn't expecting a talking bird! You've outdone yourself, sis; this one's a real cutie!"

The little bird looked up and blinked at her with little icy eyes, puzzled. "Why, don't birds usually talk? Would you rather I tweet? Or sing?" The creature opened its beak wide and began making an odd, ear splitting screech which was presumably its idea of singing; while the rest of the room's inhabitants held their hands over their ears in distress, Elsa reached up quickly and froze her creation's mouth shut. In response, he jumped up quickly and felt his beak in alarm, making a panicked humming noise when he realised it was firmly shut.

"Promise you won't sing if I thaw it?" Elsa asked slowly, somewhat unsure about whether the strange little bird would listen and do as he was told. He was like Olaf in that sense; come to think of it, he would make a superb present to give the snowman when the royals returned to Arendelle and reclaimed their throne. It was a matter of when, not if.

The little bird nodded quickly and, with some trepidation, Elsa thawed the ice closing his beak. He took a deep breath in as if he'd almost suffocated before—which, since he was made of nothing but snow, he hadn't—and Kari covered her ears in preparation, glaring at the creature; a moment later, however, he made no attempt to sing, rather stretching his wings out and yawning.

"Gosh, that was a long way to fly. But I found the Queen! I did, really! She was a bit shocked to see me though." Stretching out one of his wings, the bird preened it before drawing back. "Don't see why, I'm just a bird."

"Did you tell her what I said?" Elsa asked, realising that he was much too interested in other things to recall that information.

"Oh, sure! That's why I went there, wasn't it?" The bird ruffled its feathers a little, fidgeting slightly. "She's fine with it, don't worry! Once she woke up after falling asleep when she saw me, she said she'll meet you there."

Elsa sighed in relief and stroked the bird's back with a tender touch. "Good boy," she said, before allowing him to perch on her finger and she turned to the rest of the group. "Then that's settled; we'll be meeting up with Rapunzel at the westernmost dock in just under half an hour!"

The bird froze for a minute before tapping Elsa's neck timidly, raising a wing to cover his face as he said in a higher-than-normal pitched voice, "Oh! I… I think I said southernmost, not westernmost…" He made a few short chirping sounds and then asked, in a small voice as he took off into the air again, flying backwards from the woman, "D-d'you want me to go back?"

Elsa gave a small smile. "No, no, it's-"

"Because it's okay! I'll fly back there, I don't mind, I-" Elsa placed two fingers on the bird's fragile beak and laughed.

"Don't worry. It's fine." Turning to her family, she kept her fingers around the bird's beak as she smiled warmly. "Well, it looks like we'll be meeting with Rapunzel at the _southernmost_ dock in about an hour, then! So... Well, I'd say pack your bags, but that's rather unfitting for our situation, I guess." Releasing her hold on her little bird's beak, she then whispered under her breath to it, "Go on, go sit with Mia. She needs something to cheer her up."

"Sure, sure!" the bird tweeted quietly into Elsa's ear, fluttering up and zooming around the room before attempting to land on Mia's shoulder, overshooting as per usual and flopping down onto her lap. She stirred slightly and looked down at him through squinted eyes, smiling weakly as her head dipped, almost falling asleep, and for a moment Freddie's breathing rapidly slowed. She snapped back to consciousness quickly, though, her control reemerging almost immediately. Distracted, she yelped loudly as a sharp point drummed twice against her wrist, but looking down with hasty movements, she sighed when she noticed that it was not bleeding, instead turning to glare at the offender; the little bird, of course.

"What was that for?" she snapped, her words only partly slurred, and the bird ruffled its feathers, smiling proudly in the best manner it could.

"You're awaker now!"

Mia was quiet for a moment, but then gave a shaky laugh. "I... I guess I am. A bit." she murmured, the exhilaration and unexpected pain shocking her body into a state of semi-awareness. "Uh, thanks."

"You're very welcome!" the bird said as he flapped up into the air once more, his feathers puffed up in pride. "Am I not the best helper ever?"

"Not really," Mia murmured, looking away, "You're more of a headache. That's a good name for you; Hodepine."

"Hodepine?" the bird repeated slowly as if unsure, but then he zoomed around the room as fast as his fat, unstreamlined body and large, somewhat ungainly wings could allow him. "Awesome!" Shooting towards the door, he tucked his wings in as he dived downwards towards the handle. Reaching quickly to open the door, Elsa laughed quietly as she watched him shooting off joyfully, not understanding the implication of the name.

"Yep," Elsa muttered quietly, watching with a smile as her hand rested on the visible bump, "Olaf'll love him."

* * *

The waves lapped at the edge of the cliff in a near-noiseless manner, bizarrely calm for a day where the sky above was so grey and overcast. A light foam formed at the point where the calmly rolling sea met the land, and the great expanse of blue was covered by large white gulls diving under the water, silently breaking the surface and slipping under, re-emerging with small fish flapping in their beaks. They, of course, knew these waters; they didn't dare dive near the edge where they would know perilous daggers of stone would be waiting, hidden under the depths.

The rock face was not so unaggressive as the sea which it rose from, boring down ominously on the small ship which drew nearer, the shadow of the seemingly-monumental formation making it hard to discern which parts of the craft were wood and which were ice. The bleakness didn't dampen the mood of the occupants of the vessel, though, all of whom were stood eagerly out on the deck as one entity; horses and humans and a reindeer and a wolf, as well as the little bird who fluttered around everyone's heads, taking a great liking for Lysse's antlers. Fancying them as the perfect perch, Hodepine hung on obliviously as she tossed her head to throw him off, until she finally grew tired of the action and simply accepted her fate as the little snow bird's tree.

In the middle of the cliff, a fortunate natural occurrence had allowed for a small dock to be built at the edge of the sea, barely big enough for a simple sail boat or, with difficulty, the Arendelle Royals' vessel, but not nearly of generous enough proportions to accommodate any other ships. Evidently, it was not used much; given by the way the people waiting stood away from the wood it was surely covered with algae and rather slippery to stand on, and the steep track up the hill—the only one which could be discerned—was so overgrown that it was a feat that anyone could get down it. None-the-less, a dock was a dock, and this one was as hidden away as you could get. In other words, perfect for the Arendelle Royals' needs; they couldn't risk being seen by too many people, and there were surely none out here to spread a whispered rumour around the kingdom.

Disembarking with much caution—Elsa went as far as to make icy fences around the edge of the platform in case anyone did slip—the group made their way over to where their german cousins waited eagerly, with only a guard each a little way off for protection. Though the group couldn't help but be wary, Odd being especially so—he wasn't a fan of strangers—it could not be denied that to leave without some form of protection would be utterly foolish. Every time the Arendelle royals had gone wandering without guards, they'd ended up in trouble. It would have done no good for anyone if Eugene and Rapunzel had gotten hurt too.

"Gott sei Dank, es dir gut geht!" Rapunzel cried, flinging her arms around Anna as she approached, tears rolling down her cheeks before she drew back, blushing. "Whoops, wrong language. Sorry, sorry. I… I'm just so relieved to see you! I got a letter from your Royal Advisor saying that you'd been killed, and I-" Letting her words trail off, Rapunzel then threw herself at Elsa and pulled her into as strong an embrace as she possibly could, gripping on tightly and refusing to let go. Elsa squirmed at the extra pressure against her abdomen and tried, without success, to push away.

"Ugh... Rapunzel, you're going to squash me!" Elsa complained unable to move her hands with them pinned at her side. Still, the brunette remained in place, her arms still clamped around her cousinuntil Maximus, who had been waiting behind, came forwards to pull her back. The younger Queen stumbled backwards as she was dragged, tripping over her feet as the horse moved her a safe distance away before releasing her and snorting, nodding his head once as if to say, "Stay there," but Rapunzel didn't pay him any notice; instead, she was staring with a slightly open-mouthed expression at her cousin, before she beamed even wider.

"Oh my gosh, Elsa!" she squealed, rushing back over and making Max whinny in frustration. "Oh my gosh, you didn't tell me you were pregnant!"

Elsa's eyes widened as Eugene grinned and patted Odd on the back, muttering "Good one, mate," and missing his slightly uncomfortable look as he nodded, replying with a short mumble of thanks. Elsa, however, looked at her cousin with wide eyes and whispered hurriedly, "Shush! I don't want anyone else to know yet."

Rapunzel laughed as she waved her hand non-commitedly. "Oh, there's no one out this far to hear, except the guards and they don't speak Norwegian. So really, you're fine, promise. But really, Elsa, you didn't tell me this!" Rapunzel paused for a moment, considering. "You must be at least four months along now, so that's long before you disappeared and-"

"Wait, wait." Elsa cut in, her tired mind just picking up on something that her cousin had said. "Four months? I've barely got a bump. I-" Glancing down at her stomach and moving her hand which had been resting there, she felt herself go faint for a moment. "I-What? My bump is... Well, it was so, very, very tiny just a few days ago. I... I don't understand..."

Rapunzel's eyes opened wider before she folded her hands behind her back, frowning. "What do you mean?" she asked quietly, glancing somewhat nervously down at her cousin's stomach, before smiling and laughing. "You mean a week or two ago, right?" Seeing her cousin's shaking head, her happy expression dissipated slightly. "Oh, well, you probably just thought it was smaller." she murmured, not sounding overly convinced by her own hypothesis.

"I... I don't know-"

"Elsa?" Anna interrupted as Freddie, who was held in her arms, squirmed very slightly and Mia's legs gave away, crying out as she fell down. Rapunzel, Elsa, Eugene and Odd all spun around and cringed at the sight as Kristoff lifted his daughter up in a very jolty manner, the movement barely even waking her. "I... Can we get going? Please?"

Elsa gasped and rushed over, reaching out for her sickly son but being quickly brushed off by her sister, who kept a firm grip on him. "I'm fine, I can carry him. But we've gotta get going. I think Mi'll collapse soon..."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Elsa cried, ignoring her sister's reassurance that she was okay as she snatched back her son, cradling him above her bump. Turning to her cousin, appalled that she'd allowed herself to be distracted so easily, she asked somewhat worriedly as she presented him to Rapunzel, "Freddie's extremely sick. We haven't been able to see a doctor and his arm... He was shot with an arrow, but it's gotten infected. I think he's got blood poisoning." Taking a shaky breath as she pulled her son, so very, very quiet and still, closer to her, she finished in a weak voice, "Do you think... Do you think maybe Eva'll be able to heal him?"

Rapunzel looked towards her husband with a concerned face, folding her arms uncomfortably. "Elsa... Elsa, you know Arendelle needed a new Queen when you... Well, when they thought you died. Right?"

Elsa was quiet for a moment as she realised what Rapunzel had said, and she looked hopelessly towards Eugene, wishing her assumptions would be denied. Seeing him make no attempt to do so, she turned to her sister as her legs began to tremble, tears welling up in her eyes.

Mia couldn't keep Freddie alive for much longer. Once she lost her hold on him... He'd be dead within half an hour.

"No!" she screamed, clutching her fingers around her son, burying one hand in his hair and holding her to her chest protectively. Odd rushed over and looked down at his little son, so ill because of him. It was his father that had arranged for this; he should have better protected his family from that monster. He gritted his teeth as his own eyes stung, grief and guilt wracking his own body as he bowed his head and pulled his frantic wife closer. "No, she can't be gone! She's my son's only hope!"

Rapunzel frowned, placing a finger to the bottom right corner of her lips as she thought quietly. "I... I suppose she might not have left yet. She was packing her bags when we left—we weren't planning on going anywhere today. I wanted to wave her off. I'll really miss her, you know."

"I'm really sorry, 'Punzel," Elsa said, new hope bubbling up in her chest. "I don't want you to lose your daughter just because she has to take my place, but... well, can we please just go in that case? I-if there's a chance that she's still around..."

"Oh! Oh, of course, right!" Rapunzel stammered, clucking her tongue twice to summon Max who trotted bouncily over, the stirrups on his saddle bumping against his side. Leaping onto his back from a rock, she beckoned for Eugene to hop on before gesturing to the rest of the royals to do the same. "I... I can't promise we'll make it before she leaves. But if we can gallop most of the way, we might just make it in time."

Taking Max's reins and tugging him in the direction of the steep slope, Rapunzel gave him a small kick and he reared up eagerly, launching into an almost immediate gallop as he sped towards the incline, powerful hindquarters propelling him up the overgrown path as if it were nothing. The remainder of the riders followed soon after, Lysse coping especially well on the harsher terrain as she nearly bucked the whole way up the hill, letting out joyous bleats as she ran after, the horses behind her all tossing their heads and whinnying in exhilaration too; to finally stretch their legs properly again was like a gift from God.

The hill was, understandably, exhausting for the poor creatures who had just traversed it; nevertheless, as Freddie's life was still handing in the balance, there was no time to stop. By the time the group did reach Corona, perhaps half an hour of solid trotting and cantering later, the animals were all glistening with sweat despite the cool start-of-April temperatures, each one of them puffing frantically and almost ready to buck their riders off just to get a rest (with the exception of Seier, who was just panting faster than it seemed possible).

Leaving the Arendelle royals hidden behind the castle with his wife, Eugene urged his stallion into a gallop and he thundered through the cobblestone villages, slowing Maximus to a walk when he neared the main docks and he briskly made his way over to one of the guards located nearest. Noticing with heart wrenching agony that there was no royal ship in the port by now, he demanded in a slightly panicked tone how long ago the ship had left.

The guard bowed as he replied immediately. "Ten minutes or so, your Highness," he said, standing tall as he pointed to his left. "If you'll look closely, you can just see the ship's mast still just behind that small cliff there."

"And there's no way to stop them from going?" Eugene asked, dreading the inevitable answer.

"I am very sorry, Prince, but unless you know of someone who is a strong enough rower to catch the ship up then no, there is no method of preventing the ship from leaving now."

Eugene snarled as he patted Max's neck, thanking the guard and then turning his steed around. "Come on, boy. You know what to do."

* * *

"It's too late, Elsa," Rapunzel said with a choked sob, rubbing tears from her eyes, "You can see the ship just over there; it's left the docks already."

"No. No, please no!" Elsa moaned as she felt Freddie's body go slightly limper, his rare and precious heartbeats slowing even more considerably. Mia was weakening; she couldn't keep awake for much longer to keep him alive. "No, please say that's the wrong ship, that Eva hasn't left yet —"

A cheerful voice came from behind, and everyone spun around as Eugene, sat atop an extremely tired looking Maximus, grinned, a young girl sat in front of him. "Well, I can't quite say that, 'cause it _is_ the right ship and Eva _had_ left, but here she is all the same."

"What? H-how?" Rapunzel stuttered as she ran forwards and helped her daughter to dismount, carrying the girl—who was easily nearly Mia's height despite lacking three years on her—over to her aunt and sitting her down next to them on the grass. The child looked at her older cousin's wounded arm and cringed and placed her hands upon his chest, feeling his extremely weak heart beat, and she began to sing in a siren's voice, another thing which she'd inherited from her mother. Closing her two peculiar eyes of different colours and letting the song fill her up so that the blonde streaks in her hair began to glow, she strained to heal him as much as she could.

_"Flower, gleam and glow..."_

Turning questioningly towards her husband while her daughter got to work—there was nothing Rapunzel could do these days to help—she raised an eyebrow questioningly and stared at him. "Eugene... What did you do to get her?"

"I only jumped from the rock face onto the ship and then back again!" Eugene explained quickly, surprised by his wife's disapproving look. "Wha-at? It's not like I was doing anything... Uh, overly reckless."

"Ri-ight?"

"And besides," the Prince commented as he stroked his stallion's nose affectionately, sneakily feeding him a sugar cube as he did so (something which luckily went unnoticed by Rapunzel, who would have otherwise rewarded him with a slap. "I've done that sort of thing loads of times before, and it's never gone wrong."

"There's a reason I don't let your daughter do that sort of thing, Eugene!" Rapunzel hissed, though her tone was more playful than anything; it was hard to get angry when she was so relieved.

_"What once was mine..."_

Eva's lovely little song ended just as Mia finally fell asleep, no longer able to fight the call, and in his mother's arms Freddie began to stir; Elsa was overjoyed as she hugged her son and young cousin enthusiastically, but neither returned the gesture overly happily. "What's wrong, Sweetie?" she asked Eva in a gentle tone, unsure what could be saddening the child so; in response she only ran to her mother's side and burst into tears.

"I'm sorry, Auntie," she cried out through the tears, burying her face in Rapunzel's dress and weeping. Talking through the material, she finished, "I'm not strong enough. I can't make it all better."

Frowning at the child's words, Elsa took a tentative glance at Freddie's arm and was horrified to see it still pussy and infected, not healed in the slightest. Looking up in horror, she kept a close eye on him in hopes that he would start to heal in a few seconds.

He didn't.

"I can't do it all, Auntie. I'm sorry." Eva apologised once again, wiping her tears away only for more to form immediately. "His blood, it was so... Sickly, I could only heal that. I couldn't make his arm better as well."

Elsa remained quiet for only a moment until Freddie stirred a little more, his face pale and his eyes, slowly opening, looking lifeless. He murmured an incoherent word and then closed them once more, the sickness still overbearing, and as she turned away from her son Elsa smiled weakly. It was a clearly forced gesture, but a good attempt all the same.

"Thank you, Eva. You've still saved his life, so thank you so much." Her words were somewhat strained but still truthful; though she was disappointed, Elsa was still incredibly grateful for what the child had done.

As Eugene left to return Eva to her ship—she still had a Kingdom to get to—Odd came over at that moment and sat down with his wife and son, pulling his whole family onto his lap as he held them tightly, so very relieved that his father hadn't quite destroyed everything yet. There was still hope for them. ALl the while, Anna buried her head into her own husband's shirt and let the tears of joy fall down her face, so thankful thathe plan had worked, similarly to the ones which had started to roll down Elsa's cheeks, though the latter's were not happy, something which her husband could recognise.

"You're sad, Elsa." he pointed out bluntly, studying her face as he traced the shape of her cheeks. "I can feel it in the way you're sat. You're stiff. What's wrong?"

"Don't you get it, Odd?" Elsa whispered, not loud enough for anyone but her husband do hear. She didn't want too many moods to be spoiled. "Eva couldn't heal the wound, only get rid of the infection. There's nothing we can do but wait for it to flare up with gusto once more, or..."

The only other option was too hard for Elsa to say, so Odd finished her sentence for her in a hushed voice. "Amputation."

* * *

**Oh no! Freddie's not going to be saved after all... I'm sorry guys! I'm mean! I hope you don't hate me too much...**

**Anyway, I dont think this chapter's going to be as good as I would have liked, I waffled more than usual so sorry about that. I hope it was good overall!**

**Please review! I've had a tough week (the goat kid that I raised had to go in for an operation in the end ㈷7 so it's been hard. So please, I could do with something to cheer me up!**

**Also, on a side note, please check out RealDone Universe's frozen fic, Frozen: Kingdoms and Stars. The first few chapters are a little ropey, but after that it gets really good so it's definitely worth a read if you've got time! It's a crossover fic admittedly, but luckily I've found you don't need to know the other fandoms to understand it anyway! So really, go check it out!**

**-Luna**


	47. Chapter 47 - dedicated to Pabulover123

_WildVirus (guest):_ **Don't worry about not reviewing, I get that life can get busy. You're much better than the other 95% of my readers who never so much as thank me for all the work I put it. And I'm glad you like Hodepine, I quite like him too!**

_KLime (guest):_ **Oh, unlucky About reading the comments first, that's really unfortunate (though I can't quite work out how you managed to read the bottom before the top!). But I definitely agree that Hodepine needs something to settle him down, maybe a sleeping pill (or ten)? And yeah, Maxy boy only got one sugar cube—horses shouldn't really have them at all and at the time they'd have been expensive as well, so, you know... And I'm glad I did well with the transition between happiness and sadness too!**

_disneylover115: _**I think the goat's doing better now, thankfully. Anyway, I'm glad you don't hate me.**

_kathy22334:_ **Oh, sorry to make you sad!**

_thorinii: _**Oh, I'm glad that I don't seem too mean, though I couldn't bring myself to kill little Freddie. Elsa's had it tough enough. (But on that note, saving one thing must mean sacrificing something else...) And no, Eva wouldn't 'recharge' as you put it, she can only heal each wound ****once. On that note, though, she's not around to help out anyway.**

_cocogirlisloco (guest):_ **Hey, I haven't seen you around recently! Nice to know you're still with us! Anyway, I'm thinking that there'll be two chapters after this, then one or two 'calm before the storm' chapters, then the final showdown and two prologues (don't question it). So roughly two months left, 7 chapters or so.**

_Pabulover123:_ **That is a fair point that you make about leaders with a deformity not being taken seriously, it would be interesting to see how he would cope with that. I think he would be about thirty when Elsa would step down and hand him the throne, so at the very least he'd be old enough to be respected (unlike little Eva). I won't be going that far with the fic sadly, it'll be strange to leave it behind but... Well, maybe someone would write something like that. Maybe I'll suggest it. **

* * *

"Mama!" The little boy's voice was loud and clear in the silence of the operating room, though his pure terror rung through obviously. Nervous sweat beaded upon his skin in droplets and his forehead glistened in the flickering candlelight which illuminated the dim room, soaking the hair which fell across his face. "Mama, help me!"

Freddie reached out for his mother's hand and latched onto it as a newborn would, desperate for her to drag him off of this cold metal bed, for her to save him from this fate. He had been told what was going to happen—waking up after the operation with one less arm would surely petrify him, maybe even cause him a heart attack, so it had been deemed sensible to explain things first—but, alas, he was still only six years old. He didn't understand that if the infected limb was not removed, he would fall sick rapidly once again and would surely die without Eva to save him; all he understood was that this wicked man was going to chop off his arm.

"Shush, shush, Freddie," Elsa murmured as she stroked the back of his hand with her thumb, tears trickling down her cheeks in terror. "It's all going to be fine, I promise."

"But you are crying!" Freddie protested, his heart rate speeding up as he grew even more afraid. "Mama, you are crying! That means it's going to be really bad! Mama, I don't want it to be really bad!"

"No, no, sweetie. I'm not crying, it's all going to be fine." Elsa gave a wary smile which her son was only just able to see through the darkness of the room, clutching his hand tightly. "I promise, it's fine. I've just got something in my eye, that's all. Maybe the smoke from the candle's irritating it."

"R-really?"

"Yes, sweetheart. It'll all be fine, and you won't even feel a thing. The doctor's going to give you some chloroform, it'll make you sleep through all of it." Elsa's hand trembled as the door opened and the doctor, a slim but strong man whose face, though warm and gentle, was sharp and his hair starting to recede, entered cautiously, sending a sympathetic glance her way. Freddie squirmed at the sound and he let out a small squeak as his eyes landed upon the man; he was a tiny mouse trapped under the paw of a cat, his destiny uncertain but, in his opinion, most definitely doomed. Gasping for breath and trying to leap towards his mother for protection, an action which was prevented as she held him down guiltily, Freddie moaned and began to wail, bemused as to why Elsa of all people wasn't helping him.

"Mama!" he cried, thrashing about wildly and screaming. His blue eyes burned piercingly through the bleakness, turning dull as the doctor lit the candles around the room, illuminating the space and turning the boy's skin red as a small stream of blood trickled from his nose, running down his cheek. "Mama, help me! Please, Mama!" His awful howls filled the room and he scraped his fingers down Elsa's arms which held him down reluctantly, drawing small droplets of her own blood as he searched for some sort of hold to pull himself up. All he wanted was to run, and never stop running until his mother returned to her senses, and stopped this tormenting of him.

"I'm so sorry, Freddie," Elsa whispered as she bent lower, placing a tender kiss on his soaking forehead. Drawing back, her tears splashed down upon his thin gown and she looked away very slightly as the doctor came forwards, a damp cloth in his hands. The young prince flailed about ever more wildly, screaming once, twice as the man opened the cloth, pushing his head down onto the metal bed slowly and laying the material over the lower half of his face. Freddie's eyes widened as the fumes filled his mouth and nostrils and he gave a small buck with his body, a final attempt to escape before the anaesthetic began to take effect. Reluctantly laying down, suddenly too exhausted to fight any more, he looked at his mother and she released him and he stared for a moment, glaring with both hatred and hurt in those closing orbs, his mouth opening in a small, animalistic snarl before his eyes closed and his mouth shut. Elsa watched silently for a moment as her son drifted off, and then gripped his hand as she desperately felt for a pulse, fearing him dead; he looked so lifeless and small.

"You can go," the doctor said quietly in fluent Norwegian, his german accent still strong though. "I will be alright on my own. I have assistants. And I promise your son will be alright." Elsa paused for a moment, drawing closer to her son protectively, not wanting to leave him after all that he'd already been through, but she knew that she had no choice at all. To watch while her son's arm was literally sawed off... She couldn't stomach that. What use would she be when he came around if she was out cold on the floor?

"I... I think I will wait outside." she mumbled, her voice strained from worry. After taking a few deep breaths, she then turned and looked at the doctor directly, her tear-glazed eyes boring deep into his own and she said slowly, with as much control as she could muster, "Promise me he will be alright?"

The doctor remained silent for a moment before sighing, slowly ushering the queen out of the room—and giving her enough time to lay her eyes upon the monster of a saw which lay on the table at the back of the room. Longer than her arm, thicker than her waist, with truly vicious teeth as large as her eyes.

As she was pushed out of the door, the doctor looked back at his patient in the room as a few of his assistants entered, ready to help if need be. Elsa waited silently, desperate for reassurance that everything would be fine. But, of course, life wasn't so forgiving for the family at the time.

"I am sorry, your Majesty." he said, his gaze kept away from her own. He took a step backwards and began to shut the door, closing it until only enough room for him to stand in remained. "I cannot promise that." Drawing back, the doctor closed the door quickly, ready to attend to his young, precious patient, leaving the said child's family outside, all frozen in shock and dread.

* * *

"How is he?" Elsa's voice was shaky as she nestled into her husband's body as much as she could, her speech as it always was when she inquired as to her son's health. It had been four days since Freddie's operation which had, thank the Lord, gone without a hitch, but in that time the poor child had been shut in a small room alone, frequented only by the doctor who came to check up on him. It had been the man's decision that in order for him to make a rapid recovery, it was advisable for him to sleep; with no other distractions, no toys or books or companionship, and with no room to run around, he had little else to do.

"He's as well as can be expected, your Majesties," the doctor said, bowing slightly at the royal presence. "He is understandably scared and rather put out, and he is still tormented by regular bouts of sickness. He is continuously complaining about the pain in his shoulder, of course, though I have given him a little willow bark to chew on, to help relieve it a little. I would administer him some morphine, but I fear he would become addicted if I used it much. The British Empire has had considerable troubles with it in the past, and that's with full grown men, let alone a boy."

Odd frowned, glancing towards the closed door. "Are you sure you couldn't give him just a bit?" he asked, his heart aching for his son. That sort of pain... It was surely unbearable.

"I'd rather not, sir. At any rate, the pain encourages him to sleep, too, which should help the wound heal a little faster." The doctor paused as a few short coughs sounded from inside the room, but thankfully it was an isolated incident, rather than a continuous one. He settled quickly, though Elsa took an involuntarily step towards her son's room at the sound; her path was immediately blocked by the doctor. "He needs to be left alone, your Majesty. I know this hurts, but let him heal a bit first."

"But I-"

"If it helps," the doctor said, fingering the buttons on his jacket, "I can tell you with absolute certainty that he is, at the moment, fine. The skin on his stump is starting to heal well, and it is only bleeding lightly, just a few droplets of blood. His bandages have barely been soaked through, luckily; nevertheless I changed them as a precaution."

"Oh, thank goodness!" Elsa said in a breathy voice, relief surging through her body. "I was so worried!" Pushing away from Odd, she looked down at him slightly—what with her being very slightly taller—and beamed. "Did you hear that? He's going to be fine, oh, thank God!"

"Please, your Majesty," the doctor interjected, a graver expression gracing his face, "I urge you not to get your hopes up too much. The sickness is surely a result of the chloroform, but I cannot guarantee that he will not develop other symptoms later on as well. Breathing problems, liver problems... There is evidence that chloroform may have caused this. So... Just give it a while before you get too hopeful." Seeing the Queen of Arendelle's face fall, he faltered slightly before sighing, his firm exterior crumbling. "Look, your son really needs to rest, but I will allow one of you to visit him later, for five minutes. Just one, I don't want him getting too restless."

"Elsa'll go," Odd said, nudging his wife forwards. She, in turn, looked at him with such gratitude burning in her eyes that he almost thought his knees would give way; when she turned back to the doctor to reply a second later, though, he was left feeling even weaker from surprise.

"No, Odd can see him. I got to sit with him before the operation." Trying hard not to sniff as longing tears built up in her eyes, Elsa turned to him and gave a small, sheepish smile. "At any rate, I wouldn't be strong enough to leave if I went in there. I'd refuse to move."

"What? Elsa-"

"No, my mind is made up." Elsa said with a resolute tone. "If I went to see him I'd only keep him too long, and I don't want him taking longer to recover for my own selfishness." Turning to the doctor, she gave a wobbly smile, her eyes ever darting towards the door handle, her attention focused on listening for her son's voice. "What time can my husband come?"

"After dinner should be fine. Fredrik Aleksander should just be finishing his own meal then—perhaps he would eat better in your company, in fact."

"Very well. Thank you, sir." Turning to her husband, she took his hand and he noticed instantly how they had become much colder to the touch. "I... I suppose we ought to see if the others have found any more information?"

Odd removed his hand from hers and wrapped his arm around Elsa's waist, pulling her closer to his slender but strong frame, helping her to feel more secure and a little less worried. It was the most attention she'd allow him to give her; any more than a tight squeeze or a gentle kiss and she'd instantly descend into a panic. Not that anyone could blame the poor woman really, but it was rather frustrating for Odd—and for Kristoff, for he and Anna were in the same boat—all the same.

"Yeah, we should probably go," he replied, nodding, and then gave a small nod and a smile towards the doctor, who returned the gesture quickly though with a little less enthusiasm. For his part, Odd barely noticed; so many people of high status who knew of his background saw him as scum, but when they masked it well he could deal with it. A ballroom full of snobbish royals and nobles, however... Now that was a completely different ball game.

* * *

Elsa groaned as she flopped down onto the large bed in her and Odd's room, wincing a little as she landed and instead rolling over onto her back, rubbing her swollen stomach tenderly. She cringed a little as a sharp pain developed in her abdomen and she closed her eyes in discomfort, bringing her legs up to her chest as if hoping she could squash the throbbing. It wasn't agony, rather a continuous ache which occasionally spiked in intensity, making her wonder if anything was wrong with her child. She surely hoped not.

Rubbing her belly gently, Elsa sighed as the pain began to subside, the relief incredible. She hadn't remebered her pregnancy with Freddie being so distressing—with the exception of the part where Ayla sped up her pregnancy and made him grow at such an extortionate rate that it very nearly killed them both.

"Hi there, little boy," Elsa said absently, continuing the motion on her abdomen. "Why are you making this difficult for me, huh?" Elsa gave a nervous laugh and stilled her movements, letting her hand rest on the center. "What am I saying, I've hardly protected you, have I? All that I've been through recently... You've had to suffer as well."

"This family can't catch a break, can it?" A masculine voice sounded as the door opened soundlessly, a pleasant reminder that this wasn't some dingy Norwegian room but a grand German castle, where all of the occupants were as safe as could be. "Really, it 'a not even born yet and you're already having to apologise."

Elsa's slight smile subsided and Odd's face fell, realising how his words had sounded. "Oh, damn. I didn't mean it like that!" He rushed to reassure her, walking briskly to her bedside and clambering onto the bed next to her so that he could pull her close. "What I mean is, we've been through loads and yet here we all are, and you've kept it safe all the while."

"Him. He's not an 'it', Odd."

Odd chuckled quietly. "You don't know, it could always be a girl."

"I can't imagine having a girl. He is definitely a he, I'm sure of it." Rubbing her stomach again, she added, "No daughter of mine could be so cruel and make me ache so much."

Elsa closed her eyes and let out a small moan, the pain returning—he was being especially grumpy today, it would seem—and she lay her head back on the pillow, gritting her teeth. "Ugh... Remind me to thank Freddie for being so nice."

"I know I wasn't around for most of it, but I wouldn't call that nice. More like slow and painful torture, if you ask me."

"Be glad you didn't have to go through it." Elsa bit out, her fists clenching at the pain. It would pass soon, but she hadn't hadit this bad before. Unable to rub her stomach, she felt her heart melt when her husband began to attend to it for her. "Oh, thank you."

"No problem," he replied, though his voice seemed a little strained; when the pain finally passed a minute later, Elsa opened two tired eyes to look at him qustioningly. "What'so the matter?"

"I... I just noticed, you really have gotten a lot bigger these past few days. I... I thought Rapunzel was juse seeing things when she said you looked four months along the other day, but... Well, you look even further now. Definitely not three months, and you've got a fairly prominent bump."

"Really?" Elsa let out a small breath and sighed. "I... I hoped it was only me who had noticed." Pausing for a moment, she held her breath before mentioning something which had been on the tip of her tongue for the past few days. "You... You don't think I'm still cursed, do you?"

Odd paused for a moment, realisation crashing over him. "That's the... The only logical explanation." he said cautiously, as if fearful that saying it would make it true. "That,d explain the extra pain, too."

Elsa's eyes widened as she sat up straighter, her heart pounding. She'd only had suspicions before, but now...

Taking a deep breath in, she smoothed back her hair and tried to calm herself, succeeding only a little. Turning to face her husband instead, she desperately tried to change the topic.

"Have we found any information yet? I didn't get a chance to see Anna before I came up here, I was in a fair bit of pain."

Odd,s eyes softened as he pushed his wife back down onto the pillow, rubbing her stomach. "Nothing of any use. Until Rapunzel gets everything sorted so that she can announce that we're... Well, alive and camping out in the castle, we're stuck to the royal library which is great and all, but we need to talk to the villagers really. So... We're stuck now."

"Oh."

The moonlight streamed down through the windows of the bedroom, bright and full and incredibly beautiful. Elsa was grateful for such. A small commodity; it helped distract her from the aching a little.

"And Freddie? How's he?"

"Oh, he's actually doing pretty well." Odd said, fishing around in one of the pockets of his new royal coat before bringing out a small piece of paper. Handing it to Elsa, he continued as she unfolded it. "He's exhausted—probably _too much_ sleep—and hungry, but he keeps puking most of hi food back up. And he keeps moaning about his arm. He seemed fairly happy to see me, though—once he got over the phase of shouting at me to take him away before the bad man came back to cut off his other arm. Poor thing doesn't know what's going on, he's scared. But happier than he was, at least."

Having listened to her husband before, Elsa took the pause to unfold the paper. What she saw made her gasp and her heart ache—yet more torture; though it was only a simple sketch, Odd had drawn little Freddie as he lay on his bed, covers surrounding his legs as he sat up, smiling weakly as he gave a small wave with his left arm, his right—or what was left of it—hidden beneath the shoulder of his gown. Strangely, the sight of her now-one-armed son didn't faze Elsa; she was simply glad to see evidence of him once more and she clutched the crude line drawing against her chest and her heart, tears rolling down her cheeks.

He was alive. He was getting better slowly. And if he could do it, then so could they all; they would survive this drama, and the everything would be back to normal.

As normal as it could be for a family of magical royals, at least.

* * *

**I was going to do a little more on this chapter, but then I figured I could save it for next one. This was long enough anyway!**

**Please review, the fic's getting near to the end (I've got six or seven chapters left until the end, how strange) and I'd love to hear what you think! Also, I'm open to harsh critique—I've had one person who's been helping me with the first fic and he pointed out so many big flaws which I never noticed. **

**Also, if you've got anything you'd really like to see before this is over make sure to ask, there will be a few chapters which will be the calm before the storm, so to speak, so ideas to fill them would be nice (so if you really want some, I don't know, Mia and Kari sisterly bonding / fighting or whatever just ask! I don't bite, may nip if you're rude though!)**

**See you next week,**

**Luna**


	48. Chapter 48 - dedicated to KLime (guest)

_KLime (guest): _**Wow, I wasn't expecting the chapter to be that good. I'm glad I did well, I had hoped I could get it right. Also, it's nice to know that I didn't overload the information, thanks so much for putting me in such a good mood! I was a little worried honestly, good to know those worries were needless.**

_disneylover115:_ **Yeah, poor little Freddie doesn't realise that there was no choice. The poor thing's just scared and confused.**

_kathy22334:_ **Oh, you naughty person! Don't worry, I spent my time writing instead of revising for GCSEs too, though I probably should have studied :S I got the grades that I wanted though so it didn't matter! And yeah, poor little Freddie! But no, I wasn't thinking about my goat when I wrote Elsa and Freddie's scene, I just did it from the top of my head. I'm pleased it's been so well accepted. (But I'm no miracle worker, just a teenage girl writing a fanfiction!)**

_thorinii:_ **That's a good point, I forgot how Freddie's basically been out of it for the entire fic. But wow, this is hardly a nice step back into being rational again, is it? Anyway, thank you for the ****critique! Hopefully I'll be able to make these last few chapters better with the help. And yes, I do do research, it's part of the reason it takes me so long to write chapters. Meaningful names are important to me (it took me an hour to come up with Hodepine's name, all Norwegian words sound gross), I'll even look up things like what sort of sweets they had at the time (I've literally spent hours trying to find them). Admittedly I'll make some mistakes and sometimes I'll include something not invented until a year or two later for ease, or if it's in the film I'll bend, but I try my best to make it historically accurate. And wow, I never thought how weird it'll be for my readers, but I suppose it _will_ be odd for you as well. But I'm planning on maybe doing a "Frozen characters watch Frozen" fic, I kind of want to do a "the King and Queen survived" fic too. But it'll be hard not to include Odd or Mia or Ayla or any of the other important OCs in the story, I can hardly believe that Odd and Mia are completely made up people! (I can't believe I planned Odd as a minor character and I though that Mia would be killed at the end of the 1st book as well!) As for how I'm gonna fit it in... It's going to be fast paced. Two more chapters in Corona, maybe one on the move, one or two for the "final showdown", then one chapter for an aftermath of the fighting and finally a prologue. But who knows, maybe I'll do a few oneshots for the fic later on (and I already know of one reader who's planning a continuation of the fic, which is nice).**

_Guest (guest):_ **Wow, you seemed to like the chapter! To answer your ****question, yes, Eva's being sent to be queen, that'll be explained in this chapter. And wow, I never thought of Freddie worrying about the baby but I like it, I'm stealing that, sorry. Glad you liked it anyway though!**

* * *

"Good day, your Majesty."

Eva looked around herself bemusedly, the towering Norwegian buildings seeming so much different. This was _her_ kingdom now, all her own; these were her houses and inns and pubs and parks. She realised that, with her aunt alive, she would soon be relieved of her responsibilities here and would be sent home—thank heavens, she wasn't sure she could bear to be away from her mother and father for too long—but for the minute, she was stuck in this place. But that was, for the most part, okay; she was Queen, she could do as she liked.

"Hello," she murmured in reply in Norwegian, a language she'd been taught almost as long as German, to the man before her's comment, feeling a little shy, something she knew was unacceptable for a princess, even one of only five years. Indeed, the grown-up's quick widening of his eyes only assured her of the improper nature of not being so confident and she tried to stand a little taller, straightening her back and attempting to smile, focusing on how lovely it was to be back on dry land.

"Come, we must get to the castle and get you—and your ladies-in-waiting, of course—settled in. April's been particularly unforgiving this year—" Seeing Eva's confused look, he smiled at her and reached down to help her up onto her new mare, a 15.2 hands high beauty of a friesian, as she was brought forwards by a servant boy, "—that means cold, your Majesty— and it would be awful for you to get sick so soon after arriving."

"Oh, okay." Pausing, she quickly corrected herself, blushing a little. She wasn't used to being so formal; as a child princess, she didn't have to worry so much. Her mother did everything for her. But now that she was a girl queen… It was a completely different kettle of fish. "I mean, yes, of course. Thanks, sir." Ignoring the fact that she didn't know what 'ladies-in-waiting' were, supposing she'd find out later anyway, she sat atop her friesian quietly and adjusted her hold on the reins, realising that she'd been holding them so loose before that she'd never have been able to control the mare. Of course, she still couldn't really, and she was only old enough to know how to trot, but that was besides the point.

The man laughed as he mounted his own horse, a gulblakk fjord gelding, the same breed as the "deceased" royals' own mounts. Trying not to think of his wounded pride as a five year old sat atop a larger horse than he, he urged his steed onwards into a brisk walk. "How was your journey, your Majesty? I trust the trip was not too bad?

"I… I don't know, Sir. I don't understand your question." Eva looked down at the floor and let out a little sigh; talking Norwegian—or rather, understanding it—was harder that she'd ever imagined.

"How was the boat?" the man said in simpler terms, his voice only slightly mocking. He didn't want this girl to be annoyed or distrustful of him; she was a key part of his plan.

"Oh, it was fun—I mean, ah, very good, thank you." Eva blushed as she tried to utilise the correct words and her older companion laughed.

"Don't worry, my dear. You'll get used to our language soon enough. But pardon my shameful manners; I've yet to introduce myself." Though he didn't stop his horse from walking, the man managed a small bow and smiled at the to-be-Queen. "My name is Sir Thomas Svindel, and I am the royal advisor, appointed by the last Queen of Arendelle. I shall be around to help you run this kingdom until you are… Pardon my bluntness, experienced enough to manage on your own."

"Oh, I… Th-Thank you." Eva stuttered, relief coursing through her body. She'd been terrified before that she'd have to make big decisions herself, although her mother had assured her that there would always be someone trustworthy around to help. It was good to know she had been right.

"You are very welcome, your Majesty," Thomas said, nodding his head once in her direction. "And may I say, I wish you a long and successful reign in this fair kingdom of ours."

Eva opened her mouth to reply, to point out that Elsa was alive and would surely be reclaiming her throne soon, but then she recalled that she'd been forbidden to say anything. Why, she wasn't sure, but she understood there was an important reason, so she only nodded at the man's words and smiled.

"I… Thank you, sir. I'm sure I think I will be a good Queen with your help."

Thomas grinned again, a darker expression momentarily flashing across his face. "But of course, your Majesty," he said, and then he turned away from her, facing forwards and looking towards the castle.

* * *

Elsa smiled at her sister and waved, trying to ignore the dull throbbing in her lower back, an ache which she'd had for days. She could only imagine she'd had a few bad nights' sleeps, and having such a rapidly growing stomach would have surely placed a great amount of strain on her not-overly-strong body. There was no doubt by now, a week and a bit after the group had arrived in Corona, that she was still cursed; she was easily the size of a horse by now.

Watching as her sister left, Elsa remained silent as she wondered whether or not the lead would bring any clues to the surface. For the past week, the royals had been searching through all of the Coronian libraries—their presence had been made known, and proved, to the people a few days after Freddie's amazingly successful amputation—but, alas, they had come across no knowledge of importance yet. Still, Pabbie had sent them here for a good reason; not just for Eva's healing magic, but for a deeper, arguably even more important reason.

To find the knowledge to defeat Princess Ayla and Prince Hans once and for all. It was here somewhere... Just where it was exactly was a mystery. But, in a stroke of luck, a fisherman had come forth with a potential clue that very morning; he had reported seeing peculiar ripples in the water, seemingly coming from nowhere, and they never went away. It would have perhaps seemed irrelevant, had Anna not recalled something she'd seen once, many many years ago.

Strange ripples of water, missed by everyone else, a flash of light, and a silhouette of a person swimming downwards, down to the sea bed.

The coincidence was too great to overlook the possibility of it being a magical scene; as such, the princess had gone out—accompanied by her husband, a guard and her ever-loyal pet wolf—to scout it out, backed up with a fresh bloodstream full of ice magic in the dance that she should capsize. The powers had saved Anna's life on the open seas before; there was no point in scrimping now after all they'd been through.

"Auntie?" A quiet voice interrupted Elsa's thoughts and she spun around, body aching as she did so, to see little Mia standing shyly at her side. Dressed in one of Eva's slightly-large day gowns–though Rapunzel had been more than happy for her to buy a whole new wardrobe, as had been commissioned and purchased for the other Arendelle royals, the girl hadn't seen the point in letting the already beautiful dresses go to waste–she wore her blonde hair pulled back into a neat, braided bun, and tiny, delicate heels were worn on her feet. With the exception of her flat-chestedness, she looked much more mature than her mere eight years. She blushed at her aunt's awestruck expression and looked down at the floor, fiddling with her fingers behind her back. "U-Uncle Odd told me to find you. He said your breakfast was ready."

"Oh, of course." Elsa mumbled, though she was not really that interested in food anymore. Still, after the kitchen staff had slaved away to make a traditional full English breakfast–fitting, considering their Queen was away negotiating with Queen Victoria for help in the battle which would soon arise–it would be rude to turn around and decline the offer. "Thanks for telling me, Mi." Pulling the young girl into a warm embrace, Mia's head ending up resting against her aunt's rather swollen stomach, Elsa rubbed her niece's back gently before pushing her away a little, a wave of fatigue washing over her (which she tried her best to just ignore). "I guess I'd better get going, huh? Though I'm not all that hungry anymore–how about you share with me?"

"I've already had breakfast, Auntie. I'd hate to be really greedy, it's not really a princess' place to eat too much. I'd get fat, and I have to be thin to be regal."

"Oh, it wouldn't be greedy at all, you silly muppet. I promise you."

"Well..." Mia paused, considering, as if the very idea was incredibly difficult to even think about. "Well, if you say so, then I guess I can..."

Elsa smiled and took her niece's hand, swinging it very gently. "Come on, then. We've got a feast to eat!"

Mia stood still for a second before she let out a breath and sighed, giggling as she nodded, walking at her aunt's side with a slight skip in her step, happily bouncing along. She was a princess, she had a reputation to uphold; if a Queen could scoff out once in a while, however, then she certainly could do the same. And, to be honest, she had quite enough reason to be indulgent after all she'd been through.

* * *

"I… I found them, Ayla! In C-Corona." Seth blurted out, not wanting to betray his new friend and her family, but his voice was strained as he sat with his hands and knees upon the floor, his pain making him wince. His upper thigh stung where the woman had slapped him earlier for his incompetence, an action which he realised now was not a punishment bestowed on him out of love, but instead a simply heartless and cruel torture. He would have accepted the scolding before quietly, "knowing" that Hans and Ayla only ever slapped him to try to better him and his idiotic habits; he knew now, though, that this wasn't the case. They were simply harsh punishers.

"Thank God, Seth. It's taken you two weeks to find them again, worthless boy."

"I-I'm sorry, Ayla," he said, his head hung in shame. If he were a dog—which, in his parent's eyes, he was little better than—his tail would've been tucked so far between his legs one would simply wonder if it had been firmly fastened in place.

"You'd better be sorry, Seth," Ayla snapped back, a small voice in her head quietly urging her to slap the boy around the cheek. Still, as she so often said, she wasn't evil; she was simply an opportunist. She chose whichever side would win, and so if she had to serve the dark… Well, so be it. But she wasn't a wicked woman, just firm—just as her own mother had been. And Seth had already been punished for his failures; there was no need to scold him again. "Honestly, it took you two weeks to find them in Corona? That is pathetic, especially since teleportation is your main ability."

"No, c-camofl-"

"Oh, shush, boy." Ayla snapped, scowling. "You know what I mean, there is no need to be pedantic."

Seth whimpered and hung his head a little more, finding the common sense thankfully to not ask what 'pedantic' meant; part of him was genuinely afraid that if he did so, he would learn first-hand what the word 'torture' meant, as if he didn't before. Compared to the sufferings of his young princess friend, of course, his pain had barely been a minor twinge. Not that he knew that; neither Mia nor his family had had any reason to mention it.

"Now tell me, why did you take so long?"

"I... I had to check all of the other islands first." Seth murmured under his breath, his seemingly brilliant idea now failing him. Indeed, his mother hissed as she heard his confession.

"You stupid boy!" she snarled, grabbing the collar on his slightly grubby shirt and pulling him closer. "I told you to watch around Corona, not to check the islands of our kingdom! Ugh, you idiot! Why would you do that?"

"I... I don't know. It... I thought it was a good idea. I thought I would check that they hadn't stopped."

"And by doing so, you missed them when they did arrive in Corona. It would have only taken a few days from when they left the other island you mentionned to get there." Groaning, Ayla clenched her blonde hair in her fists and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself and feeling much better when she sent her son hurtling across the room with a strong gust of wind. She was merciful to the boy, though; she let him land on carpet, not wood. "Don't you whine, you've done enough damage. If you'do done your job properly, I could have targeted them, could have got rid of those awful royals quickly and easily. I suppose now I'll have to sort out your mess; I should have known you'd screw everything up sooner or later."

"I... I didn't mean to, Ayla... I was doing my best..."

"Well, no wonder you screwed up. A newborn's best is better than yours, foolish boy. But... Well, I suppose one good thing may come from all of this."

"Really?" Seth's little face lit up, sheer joy coursing through his body. For Ayla to admit that he may have at least done something right... That was a rare and important thing.

"Certainly. We'll have to go to war now to dispose of those filthy people, instead of just blotting them out painlessly had you done as you were ordered. But then, perhaps that's not such a bad thing; maybe the weight of hundreds of people's deaths upon your shoulders will help you see straight and stop being such an embarrassment of a prince."

Seth was quiet for a minute as he processed his mother's words, before his face fell and tears rushed into his eyes. "What?"

"Well done, Seth." Ayla sneered, staring down at him in the light of the fire with sheer loathing in her eyes. Even the tiny hing of motherly affection was gone, replaced with anger and just a little bit of... Was that amusement? Surely not. "You've just started a war. You're a killer. A _murderer_."

Seth let out a small shriek of horror as he jumped up from his seat on the floor, his rear screaming in pain as he moved. Rushing over to the fireplace, seeking the warmth desperately to dispel the numbing sense of dread filling his body, he was petrified to realise the flames made no dent on the chill. Screaming, he ran to the door, adopting camouflage a second later before completely disappearing with a pop.

Ayla grinned, fixing her hair into a bun just as a maid, wide eyed and concerned, rushed in. The princess quickly changed her expression to one of utter grief, using her powers to make herself cry.

"Oh, don't mind me. I... I shall manage, I hope. My son is just a little emotional and... It simply makes my heart ache." Sighing, Ayla looked out of the window wistfully. "Oh, to be a mother... It is such a blessing and a curse, don't you agree?"

"Quite so, Ma'am." the maid replied a little too quickly, curtsying awkwardly. "Are you sure you would not like any help?"

"Oh, I suppose a warm bath may help me relieve some of my grief. Oh—my son, how could he hurt me so?"

"I... I shall get some water warmed for you, Ma'am," the maid said, retreating towards the door and clearly regretting coming into the room to investigate. Ayla nodded and smiled, false tears rolling down her cheeks very nearly in waves. Tsunamis, even.

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice cracking, but she cleaned herself up immediately the second the maid left, standing and touching up her modest makeup as she did so.

If the Arendelle Royals were in Corona, they would surely attack Sir Thomas' Kingdom to reclaim it for themselves. In some ways, Ayla couldnt have planned it better herself; killing two birds with one stone, a showdown at Arendelle.

The kingdoms of the Southern Isles would be going to war.

* * *

Anna frowned as she rushed over to the side of the boat and leaned over the fairy low edge, the craft being nothing more than a mere fishing vessel, and she stretched to touch her fingers into the water, though she was unable to reach and instead had to settle for letting the sea spray coat her arm.

"Hey, hey!" Kristoff cried in his native tongue, running forwards and grasping onto her waist, pulling he back from the side. His sailor companion unable to understand the words but capable of appreciating his concerns, "Watch out there, else you'll fall in."

"Oh, come on, Kris!" she complained, pouting. "I'm a grown woman, I'm not going to fall. I'm not Mia's age, or even Kari and Tom's age, and I can take care of myself."

"You keep telling yourself that, Fiestypants." he replied, dragging her to the center of the boat. "But I'm not gonna to watch you go overboard, so tough luck; as long as I'm strong enough to hold you back, you're not going anywhere. And besides—" The man developed a cheeky glint in his eyes and grinned at his princess. "What would your sister say if she heard you were leaning over? She'd have a heart attack."

Anna's eyes widened and she looked back towards the mainland which wasn't too far off. Maybe a half kilometre? "I suppose you're right," she mumbled with a sigh. "She looks so pregnant, I'd probably make her go into labour right away if she got scared like that!"

"That's true, so stop struggling already. 'Kay?"

"Yeah, fine. I was only looking for this… magic thing that Joshka mentioned." Scanning the ocean, she sighed and then folded her arms. Turning to the sailor man, she scowled. A guard at the side of the boat tightened his grip on a spear at that same point and stared at the fisher, who shrunk back quickly.

"What!" he demanded in German, unable to speak a word of Norwegian. Anna, of course, understood his words immediately; it took Kristoff, not being so well-versed in foreign languages, longer. "What have I done wrong? Why are you doing that?"

"Where's the... thing, Joshka?" she asked, eyes narrowed. Part of her supposed he was making fun of her; after everything, her immediate trust in other people was slightly strained. Nonetheless, she was still a much more accepting person than Kristoff and Odd combined.

"It should be around here, princess. I can't pinpoint it exactly, but we should be able to see it soo—oh! Over there, look!"

Following the direction of the fisher's—Joshka's—finger, Anna frowned as she tried to make out what she was being told to look for. It didn't take long, luckily, once Kristoff had laid eyes upon it too, moving his wife's gaze in the right direction. Indeed, once one had laid eyes on it it was hard to miss; large, fairly quickly-moving ripples grew from a random point in the sea, much faster than normal, and though the area was larger than she recalled, Anna instantly recognised this as the same peculiar thing she'd laid eyes on before, when she'd come to Corona to rule, years before when Mia was but a month old, after Eugene and Rapunzel had gone missing.

"Woah!" Joshka grunted, rushing over to the wheel and spinning the vessel quickly, almost making his royal crew topple overboard. Drawing the boat closer to the ripples, he worked as hard as he possibly could to keep his boat in a constant place, the sea being too deep for his little anchor. "Can you see from here?"

"Yeah!" Kristoff yelled back as he kept a firm hand on Anna's dress, careful not to let her stray too much. The princess, though, was hardly paying attention; instead she was focused on the strange pattern, her mind unable to think of anything else as she stepped cautiously towards the edge, her hand reaching for the water but not quite reaching it again. But something... something didn't feel right, from the rapidly cooling air to the way her palm burned uncomfortably; and then, without so much as a second's warning, a ball of ice shot from her hand, splashing into the water at the origin of the ripples and then glowing bright.

A moment later, the princess of Arendelle screamed as she felt her weight disappear and she was dragged, by some unknown force, down to the sea, her body becoming submerged though she could not feel the cold, and her skin feeling the water but not noticing any wetness.

And then she passed out, the sound's of Kristoff's agonised cries in the background, and a muffled splash as something large and heavy dived into the sea, being the last thing she heard.

* * *

Elsa groaned as she tried to eat her small serving of English Breakfast, her body complaining wholeheartedly at the action. Delectable though it was, she simply couldn't bring herself to move her fork into her open mouth, instead having it just hovering there motionlessly, before she finally came to the decision to put it back down. She pushed the plate away slowly, feeling only a little better as she did so. It wasn't that she felt sickly, just... She didn't seem to have an appetite at all. Even the thought of a glass of wine was off-putting.

"You okay there, Elsa?" Odd asked as he slouched in the chair a little, resting his legs up on the chair next to him, though he kept a watchful eye on her. "You seem kinda... Off this morning."

"Oh, I'm fine, honestly I am. I just haven't slept well these last few nights. I suppose this extra weight's been making things difficult." Smoothing down her dress over her bump, Elsa then allowed her hand to come to a rest on top of it, delighting in the feel of the extra pressure which pushed back against her palm. "Your son must be a little devil, to be doing this to me."

"Could still be a girl," Odd said, pointing towards her with his own fork as he snatched her uneaten sausage, munching on it slowly. "Not that I'd complain at another son either, of course. Speaking of which, where is Freddie? And Mia disappeared too."

Elsa winced slightly as she felt a sharp pain in her stomach, putting it down to nothing more than her son moving. "In bed still, I think. He keeps saying that his arm needs lots of sleep—lazy kid." Smiling slightly at the thought of her first son, laying in his explosion of a bed, covers and pillows everywhere, she swirled her hand over her stomach again, the chill of soft snowflakes helping to stop the ache. "And Mia... I think she wanted to go to the library. She said something about seeing if her old book was here, I think she had to leave it halfway through."

"Oh, I get it." Odd chuckled at his young niece's antics. "Anyone would've thought she was your daughter, not your sister's."

"Funnily enough, you're not wrong at all." Elsa pushed herself back from the table and began to stand, holding onto the edge of the table for support, her entire body feeling like lead. "She's not even like Kristoff, come to thi-" Elsa trailed off in her words, gripping the edge of the table suddenly, her knuckles white as her blue eyes widened, her lips parting slightly.

"Elsa?"

"Oh, dear God, help me!" she shrieked, panic overcoming her system as she began to take rapid, deep breaths. "Odd, help me!"

"Shit!" Odd's green eyes widened also as he cursed, leaping over table as best he could —though, given how wide it was, he didn't accomplish this in a very gainly manner and did send his own plate flying—and quickly grabbing onto his wife's delicate shoulders, his finger just brushing the nearly-healed scar as he asked, with as little panic in his voice as he could possibly muster—still a lot, unfortunately—and with slightly shaking hands, "What's wrong, Elsa?"

"I... I think my water just broke!"

* * *

Anna opened her eyes as she felt her body land with a thud on cold stone floor, quickly rolling over as she saw a large mass drawing nearer, just getting out of the way as Kristoff fell to the floor too, waking immediately and looking around quickly, wincing as he stood up and offered a hand to his wife.

"Oh, geez. You scared me there, Anna!" he all but yelled, before he paused for a moment, frowning at his wife a little. "You... You are alright, right?"

"Really, Kris. I'm not a twig, I'm not going to just... snap!" She mimed breaking a stick and laughed a little, accepting her husband's hand and standing up stiffly, rubbing her rear tenderly. "Ouch."

"Yeah. Really, who'd design a—...what is it? A portal?—like that?" Looking up to the entrance they'd just come through, nothing more than a circle of floating water of diameter one metre, he frowned and patted his clothes, feeling no dampness on them whatsoever. "I've gotta say, whoever made this place did a good job. Well hidden, and you don't even have to get wet to come in."

"They could have sure done with some... Well, windows though." Coughing quietly, Anna strolled to the side of the room and ran her hands over the walls, impressed that it was at least dry. "It's stuffy as anything down here, you'd think no one had been down here to maintain it for years."

"I'll bet this place was that sorcerer guy's. You know, the one from years ago, before Ayla and Hans and all that."

"What, Karleif?" At Kristoff's nod, Anna smiled very slightly. "You know, you could be onto something there. I mean, Karleif was in Corona when he hitched a ride with us back home? Before Elsa's wedding to Bjørn, you remember? He pretended to be a woman and called himself... uh, Karlotta, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, that's true. This place probably was his, and that awful mother of his' too."

"Yeah. Right." Anna coughed once more, moaning. "Ugh, come on, let's get this over with. I might just suffocate soon." Moving towards one of the heavy wooden doors before her husband could complain, Anna grabbed the handle of it and spun, putting as much pressure as she could on the door until, after a great deal of effort on her part, it creaked open. A wave of stale, bitter air rushed out and the princess gasped, gagging, but she continued forwards anyway; holding her breath for as long as she could manage, she was able to reach the end of the corridor without having to take too many inhalations. "Hey... Hey, look at this." Pointing up to a large name plaque above the middle door, Kristoff could see one word, engraved with care into a piece of wood—driftwood, fittingly—; 'Lurlina'. Similarly, the doors on either side also had similar styled boards above them; the one on the right read 'Karleif', and the left... The left read 'Ayla'.

"Woah. You don't think... You don't think this is our Ayla, do you?" Kristoff asked, though suspicion was already beginning to take over his own mind. The circumstances were uncanny.

"Sure I do. I mean, I'd thought about it before, but now... I mean, first Karleif and his mother attack us with freakishly strong magical powers, and once they were out of the way Ayla surfaced with equally strong—scratch that, with even more strong—magic."

"Wow. That's quite a lot of magic. Can't imagine why Karleif and his mother would attack Arendelle without her there though." Kristoff shrugged, looking back to the main 'landing' room. "So, what d'you say? Are we gonna scout out these rooms, then, or go back and look in another?"

Anna's mouth all but fell completely to the floor at that comment, and she scowled at her husband, horrified. "Are you... I don't understand you, Kristoff! We find the bedrooms of our arch nemeses and you want to just _walk away_?"

Kristoff chuckled as he walked forwards and placed his hands upon the door to Karleif's room, hesitating as he replied, "No, I'm just nice like that. Thought I'd give you the choice; Ayla's out for your blood, after all. Not mine specifically."

"True. But... Wait one second. Since we're fighting Ayla, not Kaleif or his mother, shouldn't we be checking Ayla's old room first?"

Kristoff faltered and then drew his hand back from the cold metal of the door handle, stepping backwards a few paces and then approaching the door on the right. Just before he reached forwards to open it, he found himself feeling strangely frozen in place, as if his subconscious was warning him not to continue. Placing his hand on the handle, however, he slowly turned it and pushed the door open, feeling a shocking pain in his palm as spikes grew out from the metal, cutting his palm so that his blood flowed freely.

"Argh!" he cried at the pain, drawing back and cradling his hurt hand tenderly. "Geez, that woman's always been a monster. She's bloody twisted—no wonder she married Hans."

"Ooh, poor baby," Anna teased as she came forwards, giggling at her husband's put out look as she went on to wrap an icy bandage around his bleeding hand. "There you go, sweetie—better?"

"You're too patronising, Princess." he remarked, though he kissed her cheek anyway and then pushed her a little distance, laughing until she descended into a short fit of coughing. "Come on, _poor baby_—let's scout it out in here and get back quickly. Somehow. I don't think your guard would be too pleased if we didn't resurface soon."

"Oh, fine!" she moaned, trotting into the room despite the way the years-old air irritated her throat so badly and heading straight for the desk, beginning to search through a younger Ayla's belongings. Kristoff followed after, heading much less bouncily towards the bed and beginning to pull it all apart, looking for anything which could have been of use.

A few minutes passed uneventfully, Kristoff finding nothing but small, old sketches (of which a good percentage had... rather questionable content) and Anna only uncovering a small collection of makeup. After going through every locket and the like, she'd found nothing of any value; that was until she open the bottommost drawer of Ayla's old, scarred desk—completely ravaged by blade slashes—and pulled out a small, leather bound journal.

Opening her mouth to speak, Anna found herself put out when a loud, high pitched voice screamed through the corridors, making both people in the room freeze in terror; a second later, though, they relaxed quickly when they saw it was only little Hodepine, looking rather flustered but at least not threatening. Still, Kristoff wasn't sure he'd ever seen Olaf's 'brother' looking so flustered and scared.

"Elsa... Elsa... Elsa... She... Elsa... She..."

"Woah, easy there!" Kristoff called, holding out his finger for the bird—who had grown over the past few weeks from the size of a robin to the size of a crow (though he still had the former's build)—to land on, and Hodepine fluttered down gratefully. "Now speak s-l-o-w-l-y."

"Elsa... She... She... Needs you!" The bird took a few large, deep breaths and made a few little tweets, shaking himself to try and regain control. "She... Baby... Now."

A second passed before the words made sense in Anna's brain, but when they did she reacted like a bomb, exploding into action as she sprinted from the room, the journal clasped in her hands as she ran. Her husband sprinted after, too, realising there was no way that they could stay here now.

They had to get back to Corona. Now.

* * *

**Wow, this must have been the longest chapter I've ever written. I know it was overly fast paced and perhaps a little jumpy, but I hope it was good anyway! Fingers crossed you guys are all excited to meet Elsa's new kid, I'd love to hear what you think he'll be like!**

**Anyway, please review, I put so much effort into**** this chapter so please give me just ten seconds back? It literally took me about ten to twelve hours to write this, give or take, so please help me out.**

**(A very tired of writing and getting ignored by most readers) Luna**


	49. Chapter 49 - dedicated to alskdjfhgh789

_disneylover115: _**Yup, Eva's blind to the dangerous nature of Thomas. As far as everyone but the royals knows, he's a perfectly decent man. Of course, lots of people in the FP universe are twisted. But don't worry, she's not in immediate danger; a young child needs help to rule, so Thomas is basically the King now. In a few years when she can think for herself though... Then would be when she'd be in rough waters.**

_Guest (guest)__**:**_** Glad you're looking forwards to seeing little Junior! xD I was excited to introduce them.**

_Kathy22334 (guest): _**Hehe, clearly everyone is looking forwards to meeting baby! But no, it won't have Elsa's powers; if you recall the lore of magic in this fic, sons and daughters of a magic user cannot harness magic, they only have magic in their blood. So if Freddie had a kid, it would have a tiny chance of having magic (maybe 0.0005%) and with each generation the percentage chance would increase. So magic would probably occur once every three or four hundred years in each branch of a family.**

_KLime (guest)_**: Yep, I'm excited to give Ayla some more background. This chapter will have some more juicy history for you! (And wow, it was fun to plan and write). And glad you're excited to meet Elsa's baby! As for Eva (who's five, not eight), she's safe... for now. A five year old can't rule without help, so Thomas is King in all but name. But when she's old enough to make her own decisions... That's when she would be in trouble if she doesn't do as Thomas would want.**

_WildVirus (guest):_ **Yup, there's a new royal baby! And wow, I'm looking forwards to seeing more of your art if you can1 :D**

_Some person with a weird name that I can't be bothered to write out (You know who you are):_ **Wow, I'm impressed. Given that the series is longer than the first three Harry Potter fics together, to read it in three days... Just wow, wow, wow! And yes, I love little Seth too. Poor kid has so much trying to think about.**

_thorinii_**: Wow, four brothers and a sister... Eww. That just makes me shudder. Also, sorry about the quotes, I'll consider it. By now, everyone should have got the idea that when I say that, I'm not being serious. And sorry the portal scene didn't follow easily, though the whole 'ball of magic' thing will be explained this chapter. But, uh, one thing... who's Svindel?**

* * *

A soft stream of sunlight filtered in through the arched window at the left of the room, providing plenty enough illumination so that there was no need to light the fire pits at the edges. Inside the room, only two people sat, a mother and baby, quietly relishing in the delightful day.

Elsa let out a small breath as she shifted a little under the covers, her grip on her new child gentle but firm at the same time. Holding the baby in the crook of her right arm, she sat up a tad straighter, her body complaining at the movement, and tried to find a comfortable and productive position. She had given birth three days ago, now—the whole process had been, thankfully, so much easier than her previous experience, but it was still in no way pleasant or even tolerable—and she was still aching from the agony. In fact, she'd barely gotten out of bed over the past days, instead just hanging around and taking care of the new royal infant, with her family visiting her frequently to keep her company.

Anna, for example, had taken to trying to make cakes to cheer her sister up—much to the kitchen staff's aggravation, for she was hardly tidy— though, to be honest, even Elsa was slowly beginning to get sick of the chocolate overload. Not that she could exactly complain, of course; cake was still cake, after all.

Odd, too, had taken a great interest in spending time in the room for most of the day with his wife, sitting with her quietly and talking a little, occasionally trying to read her a story while she dozed—which was surely the best time, for his reading was still far from perfect and, much to his chagrin, he did struggle with some more complicated words, though he at least had the majority covered. Most often, however, he usually occupied himself with his newest project, instead of humiliating himself so; a small, carved wooden statue of Elsa and Freddie. He had taken care to include a small pile of blankets, too, nestled in the crook of his wife's arms, though he took a little less care on it.

Elsa sighed as she felt the baby begin to squirm, recognising that a newborn's screams would soon be filling the room unless she acted soon. The castle was empty of most of its occupants, Eugene and Rapunzel's ship having been sighted earlier that morning, meaning that they were headed home; indeed, Anna, Kristoff, Odd and the children—with the exception of Freddie who, poor thing, still didn't want to go out in public with only one arm—had headed down to the docks to greet them, leaving Elsa as she forced them to go. She, personally, hadn't felt up to the task of going so far with her aching body today and at any rate the book that Anna had picked up from the magical 'lair' she'd discovered still needed to be read. So, Elsa had set herself on that task.

Opening the leather-bound journal slowly, blowing dust off of the pages away from her, careful to hide her squirming child's face, she turned the first yellowed page and placed it down on her lap, softly stroking the baby's head.

"April twentieth, 1834," she began, translating the childish and messy german writing, pausing as her baby began to squirm but she quickly continued, her voice settling the child a little. "After the problems this morning, Mother told me that Father won't make it. She said that he would die slowly and in pain, and there is nothing to be done. She doesn't seem all that sad, though, so I guess I shouldn't be either. After all, if she is okay with it then it mustn't be all bad, I suppose… I hope, anyway. I can only assume Mother somehow knows Father will go to heaven. Still, that doesn't make me feel much better, and I've had better birthdays… Now I'm rambling, so I guess I'll leave it at that."

Elsa paused in her reading and looked down at the baby in her arms, who was now wide awake and staring up at the woman expectantly, nose beginning to sniffle and mouth blubbering a little as the gentle speaking ceased. The queen noticed this immediately, of course, and she began talking once more as she stared down into blue eyes which were beginning to change to a somewhat murkier shade. What colour they'd end up, though, Elsa couldn't guess; green, she hoped, as green as Odd's, but she couldn't help but fear that they would not go that shade. The small tuft on the baby's head, indeed, seemed controversially coloured; some would argue it to be dark brown, and others would call it black. "Oh, shush, baby," Elsa murmured, leaning her head down so that her breath fell upon the newborn's face. "I'm still here, aren't I?"

The baby babbled a little with unintelligible murmurs and batted her arms around, reaching up and grasping a lock of Elsa's hair in small, chubby hands. "Ah, good girl, Cecilie," she cooed, before returning her gaze to the book.

"April Twenty-third, 1834, dawn. Father is going to die tonight, the doctor said. I'm glad he will, it's hard to see him in so much pain. Mother and Karleif were pleased, too, though I think they were happy because they came up with some plan. I don't know what it is, but I'm going to find out. Just because I'm the baby of the family—and a girl—doesn't mean that they can leave me out. I'm fourteen; I'm not that young."

Elsa gave a grimace at the thought of a young Ayla—for that was surely whose diary this was—and quickly tried to brush away the thought, instead tickling her new daughter's head.

"April Twenty-third, 1834, dusk. I found out what Mother and Karleif were planning. They said that Father had magical blood, even though he couldn't use magic, and that means I do too, which sounds awesome. Karleif, of course, isn't really his son—not that Mother would ever tell him—so he doesn't have it. Ha, serves him right for being such a tell-tale-tit. He's mean.

"Anyway, I learned what they're planning. They say they're going to take some of his blood, inject it into their veins, and hope that they get the magic. I think it's a silly plan, but when I asked Mother, she said she had some other guy's research which suggests that it'll work if they take the blood quickly, after she slapped me for spying of course. But she said I'm not allowed magic; after the whole thing with Father, she said I'm too reckless and irresponsible. It stinks, but that's just life I suppose.

"April Twenty-fourth, 1834. Father died this evening, and Mother and Karleif went along with their plan and injected themselves with the blood. I snuck in after them and did it myself, too—teach them to leave me out. It was hard, though; my hand was shaking and seeing Father dead, just lying there… I didn't do it very well, I had to put a bandage on to stop the bleeding. But Mother and Karleif—the idiots—have collapsed now. I don't know why I haven't collapsed too, but I suppose I'm just better than them. Haha."

Elsa frowned as she turned the yellowed page of the journal, her free hand still stroking Cecilie's little tuft of hair. She shook her own head and hummed a little to keep the baby distracted, all the while wondering how on earth a family could be so cold hearted. A man had just died, and Karleif and his mother weren't bother in the slightest.

"May Second, 1834, midday. I just woke up from a coma, and Mother—woman didn't even seem worried—says I've been out of it for days. I don't even remember going unconscious, but oh well. I suppose I'm not better than her and Karleif; we all passed out. But, on the plus side, none of us have the powers Mother hoped she and Karleif would. I'm kind of glad of that, in some ways; might teach her that she's not so amazing as she thought.

"May Second, 1834, evening. I was wrong, I am amazing. I came back up to my room after dinner—I suppose I was pretty tired, even walking up the flight of stairs from the dining hall to my room was tough—and I burnt my hand on the door handle. If that hadn't been strange enough, when I let go the silver had melted. There's no way that's not magic; Mother's plan actually worked for me at least. Now I just have to keep it a secret, in case she tries to slit my throat when I sleep."

Cecilie struggled in her mother's arms unexpectedly and began to sniff a little, her mother's words suddenly not soothing to her. Elsa paused for a moment, lifting her up a little and tentatively sniffing her diaper, finding it clean. Clearly she was not in discomfort, either, so she came to the conclusion quickly that the only cause could be hunger. Sighing, she thawed a little of her ice gown to reveal her breast, offering it to the child slowly which quickly quietened her whining. She latched on greedily as best she could, the task of finding the right spot being a tad troublesome for a baby as young as she but she succeeded in the end. Squishing her face right into her mother's skin, she gripped the platinum-blonde plait in her right hand as she'd done before and gently pounded her left fist on her mother's breast, such a feeble and weak action that it was hardly more forceful than a fly.

Elsa smiled as she looked down at her nursing daughter, though her heart was somewhat conflicted. On the one hand, she couldn't help but adore the little girl, as all good mothers should; on the other, she was terrified that she wasn't Odd's. She knew shat she would love her no matter what, of course, but she was well aware that her husband would have more trouble; no matter how much he promised her, Elsa knew that if little Cecily, the daughter she never thought she'd have, turned out to be another man's… Well, poor Odd would struggle, to say the least. Indeed, even now he couldn't quite accept her, not yet, not until he knew for sure whose daughter she was; his, or one of Arne's men, all of whom had had their way with their royal prisoner.

Elsa shuddered at the memories and became acutely aware of her brand marks, the now-healed scar on her shoulder, so deceptively beautiful, and the scabby, healing mess on her lower back, the mark of the Southern Isles. Trying not to let herself think on the issue too much, she instead returned her focus to the journal, supporting little Cecilie, the loveable reminder of her fears, against her chest.

"May Ninth, 1834. I've been busy this week, studying what I can and can't do. I've not found any limits on my powers yet, though using them does tire me out a bit and I'm a bit shoddy in my control. I've told Mother that I'm sick, but she doesn't seem all that interested in me. Not that she ever did; Karleif's a much more valuable person in her eyes, being male and all. But that's fine, I prefer it this way. And then, when I get the hang of using these powers, I'll be able to do whatever I want. Maybe I'll shame her, that'd give me great pleasure.

"July Eighteenth, 1834. It's been a while since I wrote in here, but I've been so busy I've not had the time anyway. I've not made much progress with my powers for a while, but I think I've got a good amount of control over them. And I'm an expert in changing the colours of flowers, it's been driving Mother mad that they keep changing. Pale pink riles her up especially, so I make them that colour most often. But I'm beginning to realise that I can do so much more than just petty things with my magic, I could actually make a change. I could do something important, be a respected person. That's exciting in itself, and when I do get complete control and more stamina, I hope I'll be able to do it.

"October 5th, 1834. Mother's been chatting with Karleif again. I think she's finally caught onto the fact that the flowers are a magical problem. She's convinced herself that it's Father's ghost doing it, though, so she had his coffin dug up and burned yesterday. Mad woman. But, on another note, she seems more interested in ever in obtaining magical powers. She's done more research, and it seems royal families had magic once upon a time. I'm not sure how that would help her, though.

"December 25th, 1834. Mother mentioned to Karleif—I was listening in, of course—that there's been a rumour about the royal family of some Norwegian town. Arundel, I think it was called." Elsa stared at the book for a moment before she hastened to continue, still speaking aloud for Cecilie's sake. "They say that there was something… Magical about the snow a few days ago, and that he royal family have always been shut away. People are wondering whether any of them is a witch; it would explain why they never come out in public. But, it's just a rumour anyway. I don't see any point in thinking anything of it."

Elsa smiled a little and gave a short, bitter laugh. If only the young Ayla had known how true those rumours had been—though Elsa had never heard word of their existence. Of course, there had never been any reason to mention it.

Returning her attention once more to the book, Elsa opened her mouth to begin reading just as the door pushed open, little Fredrik stood there, his arm wrapped around a small toy bear. He was still clothed in his pyjamas, and he looked at his mother with wide, somewhat fearful eyes.

"C-Can I come in?" he stuttered, glancing warily at his mother and new sister.

Elsa laughed, pulling her free hand away from the book as she beckoned for him to come over. "Of course, sweetie. You can come and see your new sister, if you'd like?"

Freddie walked over stiffly and threw his bear up onto the bed which was nearly as tall as him, jumping on—being unable to pull himself up—and sitting cross legged at his mother's feet. "No thank you, Mama," he said, picking up his bear once more with his right arm and holding it to his chest. His stump had begun to heal now, and he no longer had to wear a massive bandage, just a small one concealed by the unsupported, empty arm hole. "I don't really like her."

Elsa frowned a little and opened her free arm for her son, inviting him closer. He paused momentarily before reluctantly shuffling to her side; she, in turn, smiled warmly at him and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, though her heart did ache a little. "Why don't you like her, Freddie?" she asked, her attention returning to the baby as her head flopped off of Elsa's breast, her eyes closed as she dozed. Little Freddie only glared at her.

"You won't like me anymore," he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You're going to spend all the time with her, and you won't see me!"

"Oh, you muppet," Elsa said gently, pulling her son to her side and then moving so that little Cecilie, clothed in a silky cream gown, lay upon his lap, asleep still. "I'll love you just as much, Freddie. Don't worry about that, I won't ever stop loving you. You're my little boy, and besides-" She placed a finger on his lips gently and gave a breathy laugh. "You're much less noisy and annoying."

Freddie's face lit up a little, though he still seemed somewhat withdrawn. "Papa doesn't like her." he said, not realising the pain that statement caused his poor mother. "If Papa doesn't like her, then I shouldn't like her."

"Oh, you silly boy," Elsa said, smiling though tears began to glisten in her eyes. "Papa _does_ like her, of course he does. He just… She just reminds him of when your Grandpa took us all prisoner." Elsa's voice was shaky and unsteady, and she was grateful that she could leave so much out, that she didn't have to explain the horrors she faced to her five year old son. She couldn't quite tell whether she was trying to convince herself or the boy of her words, though.

"Really?" Freddie asked as he looked down at his tiny, tiny sister who lay in his legs, reaching forwards with his hand to touch her own and taking a quick breath in when she gripped onto his finger. He looked up to Elsa for support, not knowing what to do.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," she whispered, brushing his messy hair, so similar to Odd's, out of his face. "She likes you."

Freddie smiled a little before laughing somewhat too, his loud voice waking the baby and instantly causing her to scream. He yelped and scrambled backwards, not caring that she had just rolled straight off of his lap (to be rescued immediately by her mother).

"She doesn't like me," he mumbled sadly as he recovered, sitting away from his mother a little. Elsa, in turn, sighed a little as she tried to soothe the girl.

"Of course she does, Freddie. You just scared her, that's all." Seeing her son's unconvinced expression, she thought for a moment before smiling. "You know, I think she'd really love a picture. A picture of Hodepine and Olaf. You think you can do that?"

"I... I guess I can..." Freddie trailed off, scratching behind his ear before struggling over to the side of the bed and hopping off rather uneloquently. Landing with a muffled thud, he yelped in pain before jumping up and scampering off, his bear held in his hand.

Elsa whimpered slightly once Freddie had left, a few tears streaming down her cheeks as she held little Cecilie against her chest tightly, rocking back and forwards. The baby whimpered and began to sniffle, squirming a little; Elsa barely heard over her own thoughts, trapped in her own little world as she pleaded with whoever had fixed her fate this way to be merciful, to let her sweet new baby be fathered by the man who deserved that title most, and not by some monster of unknown identity.

Breaking out of her trance, Elsa finally noted Cecilie's wails and released her choking grip on her, breath caught in her throat as she stammered slightly, placing kiss upon kiss on the newborn's soft head. "Oh, sweetie..." she said in a hushed tone, a tear falling with a splash on the baby's cheek and making her whine even more. "Oh gosh, Cecilie... Hush, dear, hush." Rocking a little more to try and calm her restless daughter, Elsa reached out for the journal once more, trying to read all while continually swaying in the same repetitive manner.

"January 29th, 1835. Mother's been working on getting herself powers all month. She actuslly seems really serious about it, but I'm starting to get worried as to how she's going to carry it out. Still, awful as she is, I wouldn't call her wicked. She... Surely she won't stoop that low. Humans aren't that bad a species."

Elsa sighed as she flicked through a few pages, opening her mouth to continue a few seconds later, but she couldn't help but pause as she attempted to read out the date. Still, she had to force herself lest Cecilie, who had begun to doze again, would wake up and wail once more.

"M-May 24th, 1835, dusk," she stuttered, shaking a little, her blue eyes wide. "Mother finally did it; I didn't think she would actually do something like this. The King and Queen of Arendelle's ship was wrecked this morning, and Mother managed to find them washed up on a small island near to Corona. She and Karleif got there fairly quickly, did them in, and then took their blood. They used the Queen's blood and now... Now they're in the same coma as I'd been in. Which can mean only one thing; they're going to have powers too. I'm not sure what's worse; that they murdered two royals, or that they could soon have the magic to wipe out the whole world, maybe. I don't know how strong these powers are. But, I suppose, Mother's still not evil, as such. She's... She's just an opportunist. Just like I am for using Father's blood for my own gain. I guess; that's what my head is telling me at least."

Elsa groaned quietly as she finished reading, burying her head in her free hand. It was unbelievable to read what it was that she was reading; both to think that her parents had been murdered, but just as much to think that this young, teenage Ayla could even consider excusing her mother's actions. In some ways, Elsa could even picture how the sorceress managed to not kill herself from the guilt she should have accumulated by now; she'd been mad for years, and she didn't know anything else.

A gentle knock sounded at the door and it opened without even waiting for a response, a rather flustered Anna stood there in the doorway. Her face was flushed, her breathing obviously heavy. "Elsa... Elsa, you've got to go down to the drawing room, now!"

"What?" Elsa breathed, careful not to wake the sleeping baby girl in her arms.

"Queen Victoria... She came back here with Rapunzel. She said that she'll help with reclaiming Arendelle, but first... First, she wants to speak to you."

Elsa's face fell as she comprehended her sister's words, her grip on her daughter tightening though she nodded quickly, rising from the bed shakily, cradling Cecilie tenderly. She was a queen, and as such she had certain duties which had to be carried out... But still, this wasn't any old royal meeting. This was a meeting with the Queen of Great Britain, the famous ruler of the strongest naval power in the world and, even more terrifyingly, the sole person with the power to determine Elsa and her family's future.

* * *

**Whoo, a fairly long chapter again! And I bet I caught some of you out with little baby Cecilie's gender! Haha, I'm so mean!**

**Anyway, I've been so busy this week, had to write it all in one day, it was tough (hence why I'm finishing this at 2am... Oops). Anyway, I'd best be off to bed, so you know the drill; please review, fave and whatever else too!**

**Love you all!**

**-Luna**


	50. 50 - dedicated to disneylover115 & KLime

_KLime (Guest):_ **Glad you like Cecilie! And as for Ayla's past, there will be a bit more journal reading later on, so I may consider what you say. I'm actually pretty excited for what I can do with her. And... Wow. I must be borrowing magic from Ayla as you say for I didn't even know I wrote anything that powerful, that means a lot to hear it! *sniffles* Hehe, thank you so much!**

_Guest (guest):_** You'll have to wait and see whose daughter she is. But don't worry, Odd will love her either way.**

_kathy22334:_ **That's a fair point, Elsa doesn't seem to get what she wants, does she? Of course, that could apply to other plans and hopes of hers as well...**

_funny name person again:_ **Honestly, you make a fair point; Ayla's actions now are not completely her fault. As you say, had she been raised either in a different family or simply raised a little differently, she would have probably been a real great person. As for the royal family catching a break... Eh, it may be a little while yet.**

_disneylover115:_ **Glad you liked Cecilie! Anyway, as you say Elsa was definitely different as a young child, from her fourteenth birthday she'd definitely ****be a lot different. And wow, I'm glad to know that yo like the fic so much.**

_Thorinii:_ **Oh right, his surname! Hehe, I think I was tired... Anyway, glad you liked the bit of Ayla's past, I liked writing it to be honest! You'll see a bit more soon. And as you say, getting Britain on side is Arendelle's only hope, but it may still not be enough to defeat a sorceress like Ayla, especially since her magic is stronger because she can feel love again (with Seth). The only advantage the Arendelle royals have is that her dark magic doesn't go well with love, therefore it takes longer for her to recover.**

_Pabulover123:_ **Glad you like her name, I was worried people might not like it. I think it's a cute name though! And yes, though the series is technically set in an alternate universe to ours (let's face it, I don't remember there being a magical norwegian Queen in our world) I'd like it to be somewhat close to reality, just with a few differences.**

_spartandestroyr:_ **Yeah, I'll be sad when it's over too. On that note though, I know of one person who's planning a follow up fic, so maybe some other readers will make some fics as well. You should keep an eye out :) But yes, Elsa and Queen Vicky will be a powerful (though not unbeatable) pair.**

* * *

Elsa thanked a young guard—a newcomer to the force, given by how jumpy he seemed—as she sat down, her arms aching for the weight of her new baby girl. She was no fool; she knew that having a newborn at such an important meeting could be disastrous. If Cecilie were to decide to whine, it would be incredibly disruptive, something which the Arendelle Royals could not afford. Any delay, no matter how small, would halt progress. If there was any chance of reclaiming the throne, it had to be done before the people grew loyal to Eva and, by extension, Sir Thomas Svindel. As such, Elsa simply had no choice but to bear the pain.

Odd sat at her side, reaching under the table and taking her hand, a comforting action which she could easily associate with relief by now. He seemed somewhat happier than he had with her these past few days, though a hint of worry caused lines upon his brow; still, he gave a warm, reassuring smile at the same time, leaning a little closer to her and speaking in a low voice, "Don't worry. It'll be fine, I bet. You're great at these sorts of things."

"What?"

"Dealing with powerful royals. You're a natural, you know."

"Oh." Elsa let out a small breath and turned away a little, her shoulders hunched so that the neck of her one shoulder dress—made from cotton, not ice—shifted slightly, just revealing the white of her scar. Even the peek made Odd's fists clench; nevertheless he tried not to get too worked up, reaching forwards and covering it back over for her.

"What's the matter?" he asked, turning her face to look at him. She only looked away as soon as he released her.

"You don't know what I'm having to bargain with, Odd." she said slowly, her voice very nearly steady. "I'm not comfortable with this at all, I feel so rotten."

Though he was lost as to what his wife was talking about, Odd had enough sense not to pry too much and get her any more worked up. Instead, he lounged back in his chair a little stiffly and moved his hands behind his head. "Oh come on, it can't be so bad. Hell, I can hardly deal with the nobles back at home, let alone the bloody Queen of England!"

Elsa hung her head a little lower and whispered, "It's still worse than that." All the same, a small smile did still grace her lips, and she squeezed her husband's hand back slowly before withdrawing her own, unable to say a word more as the door to the hall opened.

* * *

"Hiya, little duckling," Anna cooed, tickling under the baby girl's chin as she bent down a little, plucking a few blades of grass and then letting go of them over the child's face. Cecilie's eyes widened a little as she watched the strands drifting down, scrunching up her nose a little as they landed and sniffing, sneezing a second later.

Anna laughed a little as she cradled her new niece closer, rocking her as she began to sob a little, having shocked herself. Her little cream dress qup key dampened from the tears. "Oh, you silly billy!" the woman whispered, smoothing Cecilie's tuft of hair back. "You're not going to settle down, are you?" Sighing, she stood up and shifted the baby into a more comfortable position, glancing towards the castle. "We can't have you disrupting your poor mama's meeting now, can we? I don't think Queen Vicky would like that much, huh?"

Cecilie continued to whimper, though her crying was thankfully not incredibly loud; she batted her tiny fists against her aunt's chest, kicking her little legs back and forth in minor discontent.

"Okay, okay, duckling!" Anna said, turning away from the castle and heading instead in the direction of the stables. Lysse, for sure, would definitely want to see the new baby, after all Mia had surely told her. The elder girl was particularly fond of her new little cousin, just as she'd been with Freddie and Thomas and Kari; she was, rather predictably, very adoring of babies. "Come on, let's go see if we can find your uncle Krissy, yeah? Yeah?" Cecilie's wailing quietended momentarily and Anna beamed, though her relief was short lived as the baby's round, round eyes widened. Letting out a blood-curdling scream, she wailed loudly as she kicked out blindly with uncoordinated limbs, batting at the air furiously with her flailing arms and barely missing her shocked aunt.

"Okay, okay! Shush, we can go!" Anna whispered quickly, bending down and pecking Cecilie's forehead gently. The second her hair, not held up in pigtails for once but instead worn down in wavy locks, obscured the child's vision, she settled a little; Anna laughed and shifted the baby in her arms so that the tiny face was looking her chest rather than away from her and set off at a brisk walk, more interested in keeping the little girl quiet than the state of her increasingly-wet dress, damp from Cecilie's tears.

* * *

"Good day, your Majesty." Elsa said in her best English, giving a little curtsey to the intimidating presence before her. Despite being a few years older than the British queen, she still felt small in her presence; it was well known that this woman was powerful and, rather frighteningly, was not afraid to use that strength. Of course, on that note, she'd be a powerful ally if she could be got on side.

"Queen Elsa. It's a pleasure to meet you at last. And your... Consort, too. Odd, is it not?" Queen Victoria sat down slowly after her guard pulled out a chair, dismissing him to the back of the room quickly with a short, curt command. She then turned her attention to the pair before her, waiting patiently.

Odd clenched his jaw a little, drawing backwards as he stuttered, "Y-yes, your Majesty." He looked down at the table and shrunk in his seat, unable to meet the Queen's eyes; she, in turn, gave a short grunt and wrinkled her nose, though she regained her composure fairly rapidly.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance too, Sir," she said, before returning her steely gaze to Elsa. "But we must refrain from wasting time which is of the essence. Your cousin, Queen Rapunzel, has informed me of the situation. Would I be correct in assuming that it was your royal advisor that staged the death of your family?"

"Yes, quite, your Majesty." Elsa replied, careful not to say anything which the new monarch could take as a sign of weakness.

"How awful. You really ought to choose your confidants more carefully." Victoria's eyes bored deep into Elsa's soul, making her shudder under the expression though she did her best to mask it, countering her husband's reactions by sitting up taller. Moving her foot at the same time so that it just about pressed against his ankle, she felt her heart become slightly less lead-like as the small amount of pressure shocked him into sitting up a little straighter. Elsa curved up the corners of her lips slightly and her eyes sparkled faintly; Odd noticed the momentary expression quickly and felt a little of his tension leave him, though his eyes still refused to look directly at the opposite Queen.

"Yes. Yes, once I reclaim my throne, I plan to take much greater precautions. Though it must surely be a rare day that such an event as this would occur." Elsa took a deep breath, tying to word her sentences as properly as she could. Fluent as she was in English, she still had a little trouble trying to sound formal whilst still remaining entirely grammatically accurate. "I must say, as much as I both adore my people and being the best Queen I can possibly be for them, it is still rather taxing. Now, more than ever; with everything that has been going on, I am ready for things to return to normal now, which is why I _shall_ be reclaiming my kingdom and saving it from the barbaric control of my satanist advisor, whether you can help me and my family out in our cause or not."

Victoria was quiet for a moment before nodding, a small smile gracing her thin lips. "Your determination is rather peculiar, though I must say I respect that. Myself, I love peace and quiet, I hate politics and turmoil. We women are not made for governing, and if we are good women, we must dislike these masculine occupations. There are times which force one to take interest in them, and I do, of course, intensely."

"Elsa manages her kingdom well. Pretty much everyone loves her." Odd piped up, beaming a his wife before realising that the Queen of England now had her attention focused on him. He shrunk once again, looking away. "Ah, my apologies, your Majesty."

Elsa gave a small, somewhat nervous laugh and tried to smile confidently at her fellow queen. "Forgive my husband, he becomes rather unsettled in the presence of... Impressive and important figures. But he's a strong and loyal man once you get to know him." She sent her husband another warm smile, but he could barely even look up this time, something which was perhaps a good thing, given Queen Victoria's somewhat disapproving expression.

"Strong qualities for a man to posses, for certain." she commented, but after taking a small sip of wine she developed a more determined expression. "Alas, we are still wasting time. I wish to leave for my kingdom as soon as possible, where my dear is waiting for my return eagerly. Thus, I should like to make this brief, and details should be arranged at a later date. Such seems to be the most profitable course of action, in my eyes."

"Quite so, Queen Victoria." Elsa agreed, nodding. "I would inquire, how much has my cousin told you of my-my proposition?" Trying not to wince at her slip up, Elsa remained sitting tall, hands folded in her lap.

"Just the basics, but that is quite enough for me. Details for this business can be worked out at a less... pressing time. I simply wanted to hear confirmation from yourself, as I am sure you can appreciate. I cannot simply thrust my armies back and forth on the hope that what is being said is the truth."

Elsa sighed, trying not to look too downtrodden. "So... The offer, your Majesty? If we settle the minor details once I am returned to my home kingdom, do you think you can help my family? And, might I be so prudent as to add, I am certain that Princess Ayla and Prince Hans shall have no power over a force as mighty as ours combined."

"You are getting too confident in your own abilities, child." Victoria spoke with a well versed tongue, seemingly forgetting the fact that she was in fact a few years Elsa's junior, much superior to Elsa's own. On that note, though, even the Queen of Arendelle—a country which was far from weak, it should be noted, for it held its own naval force, even if of much less value than that of Britain—couldn't match this woman in autocratic power and authority. Victoria was the Queen of England, and that alone put fear into any sane person's mind. "Nevertheless, your proposition has sparked my interest. I am certain my merchants would be thrilled to have a connection with such a valuable trade partner as Arendelle. Indeed, I have heard your tradable goods are so prodigious that they have, in years gone by, driven men to deceitful and corrupted courses of action."

"I wouldn't go as far as to claim that, but..."

"Stop right there. Don't slander your own kingdom's goods, even slightly. I am perfectly happy to set up trade links between our two countries, for the quality of Arendellian products is almost legendary and that, I know for a fact. My own palaces are even adorned with your kingdom's pottery and craftsmanship." Victoria gave a thin smile and folded her hands atop the table, her gaze fixed upon Elsa's in a manner which only a Queen so truly confident in herself could pull off. She barely even blinked. "However, the trade is not my main interest in this deal. I assume the other condition is still acceptable for you?"

Elsa's blue eyes widened slightly though she nodded stiffly, trying to smile though not succeeding particularly well. "Yes, of c-course." she replied, her hand shaking slightly under the table, hidden. Victoria's smile fell at the words, her eyes narrowing a little.

"You do not sound certain, Queen Elsa," she said, folding her arms a little.

Elsa could do nothing for a second but try to take a deep breath, to allow her to reply. "I am, I am very certain. I... I must apologise. I'm not used to this sort of thing."

"I see. I am happy to supply you with support in this war. It will be beneficial for my kingdom, I am sure, though I imagine my men may be displeased. But of course, the important thing is not what they think of me, but what I think of them, so any concerns of theirs are unimportant anyway." The queen rose from her seat slowly, stepping aside and allowing her guard to push the chair back in. "I shall ready my fleet for an attack on the tenth of May which shall give two months for us to prepare. At that point I shall meet Corona's waiting fleet here and we shall travel to Arendelle then."

Elsa nodded starkly. "That sounds... That sounds fine," she said finally, pushing away from the table herself—Odd quickly followed suit—and she tried to smile at the patiently waiting Victoria.

"I am glad to hear you are happy with the arrangements. I shall meet with you in Arendelle once this fiasco is over to settle the betrothal arrangements."

"Yes. Except... Well, I'm not a selfish woman, Queen Victoria, your Majesty. I wouldn't want you to get involved when you seem so convinced that we will succeed. There is always the chance that our combined forces may be defeated." Elsa's hand was shaking ever fiercer now, and Odd was looking at her with a shocked, somewhat betrayed expression. Queen Victoria only gave a short laugh as she walked to the door, waiting quietly there for her peers to join her.

"I am not worried. I am not interested in the possibilities of defeat; they do not exist." The queen was silent for a second before she turned to her guard, accepting a cloak from him with a short nod of gratitude. She then turned back to her companions, smiling thinly. "Thank you for your time today. I shall return in two months with my fleet." Pausing for a second, she gave a short nod to the pair before walking out through the door, uttering 'good day' as she left.

Both Elsa and Odd were silent as they watched the woman leave with her party of guards, and even as they paraded through the castle themselves back to their bedroom, the former suddenly desperate to retrieve her baby, they made no attempts to talk. It wasn't until they were safely inside their personal chamber that any comments were made.

"What was that all about!" Odd all-but-yelled as he spun on his wife, anger shining in his green eyes. "A betrothal? What's going on, Elsa? You never mentioned any of this before!"

Elsa hung her head as she collapsed down on the bed, burying her head in her hands. "I... I had no choice, Odd. We needed Britain's help in the matter, but what could I offer them? They have no need of money, they're one of the strongest world powers!"

"So you've offered them our son!" Odd huffed as he turned away, staring at the wall with a tense posture silently, steam almost coming out of his ears. He remained like that for a few seconds before he turned around, his shoulders loosening as he stared at his wife in pained horror. "You've offered them our son?"

"What could I do, Odd? Tell me what else I could do!"

Odd sighed as he walked over to his wife's side, sitting down next to her and pulling her closer as she began to sob into his shoulder, gripping his shirt. He couldn't help but notice the faint smell of breast milk amidst the perfume, a recognition which made him feel sickened. He wanted to have hope, he really did, but seeing Cecilie with her questionable tuft of hair and her indeterminable eyes... He could only think the worst, and he hated himself for allowing such a thing to even be possible. And, moreover, he hated that poor, innocent baby girl for the awful time of pain which she represented; for feeling like that, he loathed himself, too.

Trying to forget about his new daughter, though his blood still boiled at the thought of her, he attempted to relax his limbs as he drew his wife closer. It was she and Freddie whom he was loyal to mostly, and the only reason that he could tolerate Cecilie was because of the complete adoration Elsa held for her. He had made her a promise; no matter whose daughter she was, he would love her.

It just wasn't that easy.

He shook his head as he pulled his wife closer, letting her cry until no more tears could come. "I don't know, Elsa. I really don't know."

* * *

**Wow. Chapter 50. Thanks for sticking with me!**

**Anyway, wow, bet no one expected that to happen! Or if you did, well done for guessing, I'm very impressed! **

**Now, an important note; I want to get onto the proper fight scene ASAP, however there is still one more chapter before that can happen, so here's the deal; if I can get a review this chapter from a fifth of all readers, I will post the next chapter on Tuesday, and then another on Friday. If I don't get that many reviews (and they don't even need to be long!) then you'll have to wait until next Friday, and then an extra week for the fighting to begin (and believe you me, it'll be the very best work I can do). So leave a review and then keep an eye out; if you're lucky and people pull their weight, next week will be a double chapter week!**

**See you around (hopefully on Tuesday),**

**Luna**


	51. Chapter 51 - dedicated to thorinii

_WildVirus (guest): _**Yeah, Odd should love Cecilie, and he will too. It's just hard for him; she's a constant reminder of how he failed to protect Elsa from his own father's men. Also, yeah, Freddie probably will be shocked! As for the multiple endings, I'd prefer to just close it all off with one ending, but there will be both good and bad aspects in it.**

_Jealouswayward: _**Glad you liked the Cecilie and Anna interactions. As for Victoria, I'm in the middle too. She's strong but kinda heartless too xD As for the arranged marriage, yeah, it's harsh but it's also necessary. **

_kathy22334:_ **Actually, Victoria's daughter would travel to Arendelle. And yeah, poor Odd's got it tough hasn't he?**

_You with the weird name: _**Wow, that's a big secret to keep! And to think, there are no rumours either. They covered that up well! As for reaching the elusive happiness... yeah, you can dream! Nah, there will be some happiness. Maybe in a Harry Potter sense of the word, if you've ever read/seen it.**

_spartandestroyr:_ **Yay, caught you ought! And aww, thanks. It's nice to know you think I'm not too bad at writing xD**

_Pabulover123:_ **Yeah, Cecilie's a big issue for him. He wants to love her, he really does, but such things are easier said than done. And as you say, it's even worse with Freddie's situation now too. Glad you liked Vicky and the Anna and Cecilie interactions!**

_disneylover115:_ **Glad you liked the chapter! Glad I caught you out too!**

_KLime (guest):_ **Yeah, I'm quite proud of getting this far, especially considering that when I started writing this fic I had no idea where it was going. As for the showdown... Damn, now there's loads of pressure on me! xD On the topic of unmotivated soldiers, that's a good point and I'll bear it in mind, mind you I also imagine she'd have been quite ruthless in controlling her soldiers too... As for Elsa's decision, it was definitely not the best decision but it was the easiest option for ****her.**

_thorinii:_ **Yeah, had to have a twist. And yes, royals were often betrothed to each other at the time—for a modernist family such as the Arendelle royals, though, it's painful. Elsa nearly married Bjørn but instead married Odd, so she feels guilty pushing it onto her son. Odd also nearly lost Elsa because she was to marry Bjørn and so it's especially painful for him, too. As for Odd speaking english, he knows a little, it being the universal language of the time, but he doesn't know much. Thankfully just enough to get him through the meeting. As for Victoria's overconfidence, that was a real quote she once made, so she was always confident I suppose!**

* * *

"We will be getting close to Arendelle shortly, your Highness. We should be there within a day, at the most."

Anna nodded once stiffly and then turned away from the captain of the newly-built war ship, retreating back into her shared cabin with Kristoff with barely another word. In truth, fear was clawing at her heart constantly, a constant reminder of what was to come; like it or not, there was no way that the kingdom could be reclaimed without fighting of some sort. The best anyone could wish for was a short and sweet battle, lasting a few days or less; at least that was more tolerable than a full scale war.

Closing the door behind her, Anna sighed as she dragged her feet across the carpet over to her bed, flopping down on the mattress and laying there for a moment, sprawled out and unmoving. It was the most consequential task she could do without breaking down.

Crying wouldn't solve anything.

Laying still for a few minutes and wishing Kristoff was here to hold her, to comfort her and to feed her those delicious lies which, though obvious falsehoods, would numb her mind and calm her fears, Anna eventually rolled over and lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling silently. Not long after, though, her curious and excitable nature, though dulled down by the threats looming over her head, won out and she realised she couldn't spend the next twenty four hours doing nothing.

Ignoring the growl of her stomach, Anna pushed herself up on her bed and reached over to the bedside table, picking up the old, yellowed journal which she'd been reading, her sister having given it to her after deciding she wasn't up to finishing it. It was still an important task to read it, however; any tidbits, no matter how small, which could give a clue on how to defeat Ayla would be invaluable, more precious than any of the jewels found in Arendelle castle.

Having read up to where Elsa left off, being equally horrified as her sister had been—and slightly sympathetic towards Ayla, as well—when she read the shocking truth about her past. Still, part of her remained angry; from what she could tell, Ayla had always been somewhat unstable. Her mother's ignoring of her would have only fuelled that lack of complete sanity; if only she'd been supportive to her daughter, things might have turned out differently. Perhaps the now-princess could have even been a fight for the light; on that note, though, her mother probably wouldn't have wanted that. She'd tried to claim Arendelle for herself with Karleif, and now her hated daughter was finishing off for her.

_March 9th, 1839. Mother has finally cracked. She has gone mad with power, and now she's planning to get more of it. She's not content with simply having magic; she wants the world. Of course, with so much strength I can hardly blame her, I'd want that much too. But I… I realise it won't be as easy as she thinks. She can't just kill outright with her powers, and I know that from experience. I'm sickened by it, of course—it had been a spur of the moment decision to try to kill Karleif, but didn't work. Honestly I'm relieved; I've got enough blood on my hands as it is. Still, if I am capable of doing that, or trying, I can't help but fear what Mother will try. She's hardly of sound mind anymore. At least I can still think rationally…_

_June 29th, 1839. Mother was serious with her plans, though I'd expected nothing less. She's gathered some "followers", as she calls them—the crazy woman thinks she's Jesus, I swear!—and she's made plans for an undersea hideout. I think it's more of a lair, but she has a go at me whenever I mention it. Of course, she has a go at me for everything I do anyway, so that's nothing new._

_September 1st, 1839. I'm impressed, Mother and Karlief actually pulled off their crazy plan. The lair-hideout is complete. It took a lot of work on their part—I, of course, don't have powers as far as they know—but they achieved it. Building the place itself, that was fairly easy. They just made a small cavern in the seabed, teleported down there and then did some renovations. They began to extend it, too, making corridors and separate rooms for Mother's "sheep", as I think of them—they are nothing but brainless idiots intrigued by the thought of power, sort of like Karleif. That took a few days, if that. The portal though… That was tricky. Took them days to figure out the magic and how to get it to work without killing anyone who entered through it. I had to help out, though they don't know it; though I'll never be able to brag about it, I feel rather smug to know that I was the one who made all this possible. Even if the scheme itself is sick and twisted._

_September 3rd, 1839. I've been practicing teleporting down here, like Mother and Karleif do—though they think I use the portal—and something rather interesting came up. Whenever they do it, they seem pretty out of breath, but me… I can do the short distance two or three times before I get tired. I suppose it's because I have magical blood naturally, and they don't; I'm stronger. The thought alone puts ideas into my head, but I know I must control them; I wouldn't want to end up like Mother. She is plain evil._

Anna sighed as she flicked through a few pages, coming to land on one with a small, tan-coloured stain, presumably tea. She looked down at the first entry and sighed as she began to read again, feeling highly unmotivated to do so—she wasn't particularly keen on hearing of the atrocities that had been committed by the twisted family of Ayla—until something caught her eye and made her breath catch in her throat.

_October 21st, 1840. Mother said this morning that something big's on the horizon; supposedly Princess Anna of Arendelle should be giving birth to her daughter within a month or so. She seems extremely excited; I think she wants to try to collect their magical blood, and use it to give her sheep some powers. Not as much as she controls, of course—that would be suicide—but enough of a bonus to keep them loyal. I'm not sure what to think anymore; she's definitely cracked, that's for certain, trying to kill a baby. But then, at the same time, I think I'm beginning to fall too… Part of me, a small, savage part, is just as excited as she for the chance to heighten the control of our followers. But I'll keep it buried; I'm a magician, not a monster._

_December 3rd, 1840. Word has just come out that Princess Anna's baby, a young princess by the name of Mia—cute, I like it—was born on the last day of November. Mother's particularly excited now, she's already made plans of how to get them. Karleif's going to kidnap Queen Elsa—I suppose he'll have to use magic to do so—and then hide her away. Supposedly he's supposed to make a clone of himself to fight her, but I'll be impressed if he can pull it off. I tried to clone myself, but I nearly passed out doing so. I guess he'll just have to make an illusion of himself. But then, in the meantime, he's supposed to burn down the kingdom; I think Mother's hoping that with them weak, they'll be easy to attack and killing the royals will be simpler. I have to wish her luck; seems like a foolish plan to me._

_December 15th, 1840. He did it, Karleif pulled it off. I must say, I'm a little annoyed actually; I'd have loved him to face Mother's wrath, but she's showering him with praise as normal. But I suppose there's nothing I can do, so there's no point in getting annoyed. On the plus side, though, he did nearly lose his powers; he got cut across his injection scar, where he got the dose of magical blood. He wouldn't stop bleeding, and couldn't use his powers either, even though it was only a small cut. He'd have died had Mother not healed him with magic. It's a little worrying, to think that that one spot on our body is incredibly weak, but the pain he was in… That made me feel better, seeing him suffer. He deserves it._

_December 20th, 1840. The attack had to be called off, for it seems the kingdom recovered faster than we'd thought possible. Annoying, but that's life. I guess beggars can't be choosers… On that note, a nobleman's widow and her children can't be, either._

_December 26th, 1840. It has been a rather rubbish Christmas this year, for once again Mother's plans have failed her. Princess Anna, and her husband and daughter, escaped the storm which she brewed up, so she's been sour all day yesterday and today. I suppose I'm a little put out, too; it would seem that I am, scarily, more like her than I thought... It's not all bad, though; Mother's now planning a different tactic, possession. I think she wants to trap Queen Elsa and her family in some wedding arrangement, then kill them then. I guess it's her best plan yet._

_February 3rd, 1841. It's over. It's all over. I just got a letter from some of Mother's old followers—the few that survived—saying that they were crushed to death by Queen Elsa. _Anna frowned for a moment as she struggled to read the next words, the scrawling, cursive writing smudged by water._ I... I'm all alone, now. The followers have moved on; I'm too young still for them to follow me. Perhaps one day, but for now... Now I'm an orphan, alone. And I don't know if I can cope with that._

The next few pages of the little journal were strangely bare, with a few doodles here and there but with no words of any kind. A few of the pages even had rather questionable red smears, something which made Anna feel uneasy.

Turning to the last page, Anna was shocked to see one paragraph at the very bottom. The writing was neater now, and much finer. It almost looked as if it had taken weeks to write.

_May 2nd, 1843. The Southern Isles are a powerful Kingdom. I am a powerful sorceress. It is only right that I lend them a hand, as my dear friend Phantasie always tells me. But I am not evil, nor will I ever be. I will simply take the side of whichever power will win._

Anna closed the book slowly, pushing it to the side gently and giving a little sigh. Laying still for a few seconds again, she then rose to her feet and stumbled as the boat rocked a little, crashing to the ground with a yelp. Wincing, she began to struggle unsteadily to her feet, looking up as the door opened and her husband walked in; accepting his hand, she smiled warmly as he helped her regain her feet. Her happy blush vanished, however, when she saw his darkened eyes and his thin lipped frown.

"Elsa's made the... underwater boat thing, and the kids are already on board," he said, looking out to the sea. "We've got to go now; we'll get the kids to the Valley, Hodepine's already told Pabbie about what's going on. But we've got to get that done before the mainland notice our ships; we've got to get back to support the army."

"I... Okay." Anna withdrew her hand, stepping backwards a little before she turned to face the door. "Let's go now."

* * *

**One more chap 'till the good stuff starts! I, for one, can't wait to write it! ****Anyway, sorry that there weren't enough reviews to get an update on Wednesday! You guys were half way there... oh well!**

**Also, note the new cover art! **

**-Luna**


	52. 52 - dedicated to all my reviewers!

_disneylover115: _**Yup, I thought the diary entries (not quite so cliche, loads of young, rich women wrote them back in the day) were quite a nice conclusion to the events of the first fic. It's certainly been a while, hasn't it? As for claiming she's not evil, it's a philosophy she's always had; when she first met Hans she told him that too. And yes, like many people these days her troubles in childhood HAVE left her with a need for power and control, but at the same time it's made her a very independent and somewhat messed-up person. You might argue that she'd never been taught right from wrong; she doesn't see what she's doing as innately evil, rather a means to an end.**

_spartandestroyr: _**Ah, yay, I managed to get some love for Ayla! I think everyone's got some sympathy for her actually, which is good. And oh, god, now there's pressure on me to do well... Hmm, hopefully this first chapter of the fighting will be good (I'm terrified it's gonna fall down on the feels... Ahh! Pressure!)**

_KLime (guest):_ **Glad you liked the diary entries! I had fun writing them; Ayla's great to explore. And thanks for the vote of confidence; I hope I can live up to expectations.**

_Kathy22334: _**Ah, but that's the thing; Ayla doesn't quite understand that what she's doing isn't evil. Sort of like a little kid, I suppose; she's incredibly intelligent and scheming, but at the same time she's basically blind to the pain she's causing. After her father's death, she forgot what the pain felt like; she could only remember the power which came from his blood. And yay, glad you like the art!**

_Thorinii:_ **Glad you picked up on her weakness! But I must say, to hit that exact spot will be difficult... Elsa can't just crush Ayla as she did Karleif and their mother, she'd be expecting that.**

* * *

"This way, shush already." The voice, so serious and quiet, seemed rather peculiar coming from the mouth of Bulda, the previously jubilant troll. She had come alone to fetch her family and escort them to the Valley of the Living Rock, a place where the children could be safely kept until the whole bloody business was over. None of the Arendellian Royals had felt comfortable leaving the little ones in the care of the nobles of Corona, despite Rapunzel's confidence of their trustworthiness; no person of sound mind could blame them for that lack of confidence, either. There were very few people who could truly be trusted; the trolls, as embodiments of love itself, were some of the rare, lucky few who held such respect. The three trailing guards had some trustworthiness, too; all the same, Elsa kept her hands steadied and remained ready to cast a spear of ice if she had to.

"So... Where are we going, anyway?" Kristoff asked, shifting his grip on Kari as she rested her head against his shoulder, sitting on his back in a piggyback.

"Yeah, I'm... I-I'm..." Kari made a throaty snarl at her inability to talk and dug her fingers into her father's shoulder. "Hu-ungry..." She banged her head against Kristoff's shoulder this time and drew her face into a scowl, pouting and huffing as she finally settled, resigning herself to the fact that there was nothing she could do. Her voice hadn't worked for months; at the very least it was fortunate she would never be needed to make speeches and the like. Unless, of course, her whole family died in the war... Even her grumpy heart couldn't handle that much grief.

"We've got loads of rock cakes at the valley," Bulda whispered back, waddling forwards all the while, not faltering in her movement at all. Time was of the essence, but then on that note so was stealth; even the forest itself was silent, barely a noise other than the faint whistle of the wind, the timid tread of feet and the momentary flapping of feathers as two large crows careered off into the somewhat overcast sky above. "Cliff made 'em special for you kids. But only if you stay quiet!"

Kari groaned a little more but nodded anyway; it would seem being quiet was her unappreciated specialty now. Thomas and Freddie, both dragging their feet next to their mothers, holding each woman's hand tightly, also nodded solemnly, neither particularly comfortable in the situation. As for Mia... Well, she simply continued looking forwards as she rode atop a rather put-out Lysse who, despite having definitely recovered from her malnourishment—her tubby tummy was sure sign of that—seemed bizarrely more stressed than ever before. Her mood was perhaps only worsened by her young rider's stiff posture brought about not from fear but rather from ignorance as she tried so hard to block everything out. She was so good at doing so by now; if she let even a tiny drop of the rich, concentrated fear felt by everyone else seep into her skin she would surely lose control of her magic. She couldn't afford to do that, she had to be strong. For her stressing doe, for her brother and sister, and her two little cousins as well. The poor things had never felt such terror before; she, of course, had.

War... It was such a terrifying thing for grown men and women, let alone the young ones; every single child, even Kari—though her pride and stubborn streak were much too great and strong to admit it—were terrified to their very cores. They were not blind, despite the limited understanding their years bestowed upon them; they knew they could potentially never see their family again after all of this. Only little Cecilie, sleeping so blissfully—though lightly, too—could be free from the understanding of this horrid situation. Only she was ignorant; only she was fortunate enough to be so.

"Pabbie's set up a portal not too far from here. Maybe... I dunno, fifteen minutes away? It's pretty well hidden." Bulda rolled a few metres to gain some distance between her and her following family, being unable to walk at quite their speed. "It'll take the kids straight to the valley." She paused for a moment and sighed, her crystals dimming in brightness just a little. "And all of you, as well, if you want?"

Lysse gave a little grunt and tossed her head a little as if distressed, even Mia's gentle pats of reassurance doing little to soothe her. Her eyes were wide and her ears flat back as she even gave a small buck at one point; upon hearing her rider's yelp, though, she stopped immediately, instead walking at an average pace with a small hop every time she put a rear hoof down, making for rather uncomfortable travelling. Mia sat tight nevertheless; it was surely just a stone making her lame, some painful foreign object making her walk painful. Alas, there was no time to stop; Lysse would be treated once she got to the valley with Mia anyway.

"C'mon, girl." Odd encouraged, plucking a handful of summer grass, holding it to the doe's nose but with no success, Lysse simply snorting at it and looking away, still hopping; Odd gave a very short, small chuckle as he looked at her somewhat large belly and frowned a little. "Had too much to eat in Corona, did you, girl?" Lysse snorted again and tossed her head but continued to try to step lively, at least managing to keep up with the rest of the group. She was sweating too, the poor dear, but then having so much fur could do that on a hot May day.

"That's a good girl, Lysse!" Mia cooed, stroking her neck gently in as cheerful a voice as she could muster. "Just fifteen more minutes, then you'll be okay."

Mia's words were soft though they wavered with uncertainty; nevertheless, Lysse gave a short snort of discomfort and trudged onwards, trying to focus on her friend's words which, save that she keel over from the pain, were absolutely vital.

* * *

Ayla watched as the birds fluttered down, landing on her open window rather in gracefully, the slightly larger—the somewhat scruffier—specimen falling as it tried to grab on with its claws. Opening its fine black wings, it glided a little distance before regaining some of its previous height, reapproaching the window ledge more slowly and touching down tentatively, almost as if dipping a foot into the sea to test the chill.

"Settle down, there, man." Ayla said with a small hint of condemnation in her voice, staring down at the bird with a raised eyebrow before turning her head away, staring to her left for a second as if listening before returning her attention to the pair of creatures. "Have you no self control?"

The bird ruffled its wings a little as it made a few small chirps; the woman's expression was blank in response. Instead, she let out at breath and raised her hand slightly, placing her thumb against her middle finger for just a second—a momentary warning for the vigilant—and then she snapped them, a small spark bursting from her skin as she did so and the bird rose into the air. For a second, it swelled, then its shiny, well-preened feathers—clean from boredom—fell out, ten at a time, in an explosive array of blackness. They floated down on the air in their groups, appearing to disappear into nothingness as they fell.

All the while the bird, now very much naked and shivering profoundly, still swelled; its body elongated; its beak retracted into its head. The wing bones and legs developed a coating of flesh as they, too, swelled, growing to the length of perhaps a large monkey's. The bird's tailbone shortened too, while its head began to grow in diameter and its spine straightened with sickening clicks. It gave a cut-off squawk, the sound tainted by a more human noise, and then, at last, the change stopped. Where, seconds before, there had been a crow, was a nauseating beast; its wing bones were covered with pale pink flesh and its legs the same, small growths extending and writhing; its face was uneven and almost flat, but with distinctly avian eyes and hard, cold orange flesh around the mouth and nose area; its back was short and thin, the skin stretched and tearing in places, blood beading as each speck of skin ripped.

"A-Ay-" the beast began to stutter out, it's attempt at speech cringe-worthy, its voice box that of both crow and man; he gave up and looked up to the woman, quivering a little, and then winced as a bright white light enveloped him, filling the room entirely and, as it did so, the man let out a strangled squawk-like sound. And then, just as he finished letting out his cry, the light faded and a sudden bitterness ensnared his senses; his previously horrifying appearance thankfully became no more, his skin healed and his body in proportion once again. Still, he lay on the floor completely void of clothes and shivering from the unexpectedly chilly air—incredibly cold for a mid-May day. He groaned a little in both pain and humiliation at cowering on the floor like a puppy; still, he couldn't bring himself to stand up proud.

One did not simply expose all in front of one's princess.

Of course, Ayla was far from the blushing maiden which most imagined a royal to be; indeed, she was much more suited to the title of a vixen than the Southern Isles' swan.

"Honestly, Burchardt. I'm not a child; stand up already and I can clothe you. Transforming you back isn't say; I'd rather not waste any more energy in having to dress you when I can't see what I'm doing."

The man—Burchardt—faltered a little as he began to stand, evidently uncertain. "Princess—"

"Stand, now." Ayla's tone was snappish and short and she glared a little as her orders were not immediately obeyed. Using the dim midday light which filtered in though the window of her room in Arendelle castle for illumination, the woman then stood a little taller as she watched the man before her stand; the crow still perched on the window gave a short caw and fidgeted a little, empathetic for his work partner. And he was right to feel that way; once Burchardt had stood, Ayla had to bite back a giggle as she studied him with interest. "My, my, man. You're rather small, are you not?"

Burchardt's cheeks grew red, whether from anger or embarrassment Ayla could not tell, and he turned to the wall a little, folding his arms. "Yes, your Highness," he bit out and the remaining crow let out a sudden squawk as if attempting a laugh; it quickly found its mouth firmly held shut by a lacy material, something which made it fidget on the spot a little as if imagining things. Ayla, grinning at the display, trying desperately to keep a straight face.

"Well, you tell me why the pair of you are back here, and perhaps I'll consider... Enhancing your stature." Ayla took a step forwards and let the magic illuminate her hand, as well as wrapping itself around Burchardt, making him shiver a little; he jerked away, face red and breathing heavy as he hastened to reply, unsure as to whether to be excited or truly terrified.

"We found the old royals, your Majesty. They're walking through the forest at present, near to Fjell Point."

Ayla's pretty blue eyes shone in the dim light and she stood on tiptoes a little, almost ready to skip. Turning to the remaining bird, she then surrounded it in an aura of magic and strained a little, her face scrunched in a grimace, but nothing seemed to happen at first; when she stopped using her powers, however, the bird continued to glow.

"You have fifteen minutes before you transform back into a man. Go and find Arne's men, there are some located at lower Fjell." Ayla grinned even wider and gave a hearty laugh. "I've left some clothes for you there. If you don't make it there before you transform back, then... Well, you don't mind running around the forests naked, do you?"

The crow squawked and looked down at his own lower region, taking off into the air and zipping out of the room. Ayla gave another short laugh as she focused on the final man, giving a sultry stare and rolling her shoulders a little. Stalking around him, she smiled as she watched him grow in manliness and, once she saw him stiffen a little as she brushed up against his side, she relented and allowed him some clothing; a loose fitting shirt and pair of pants. Indeed, it was still rather revealing as she brushed up against him again, leaning back so that her mouth was near his ear.

Delighting as he shuddered beneath her, she smiled and whispered, just as the door creaked open, "Is your princess not good enough for you?" Brushing up against him once more, she revelled in how he stiffened so, and felt her glee rise when he muttered an unsteady response.

"I do not think it would be wise, your Higness. I highly doubt your husband would be pleased." His voice was a little deeper than normal and the bulge in his pants suggested quite the opposite to what he was saying; nevertheless, he kept his gaze as straight as he could, focusing on the figure at the doorway. Ayla, however, had no need to look who had joined them, especially as her own desire began to make her tingle.

"Oh, Hans won't mind. Right, dear?" She turned around at that point and batter her eyelashes a little. She saw him stiffen up too and grinned at his display; oh, the power she wielded, and she didn't even have to use magic. She then took a deep breath as she walked away from Burchardt, her hips swaying as she went. "Come on then, boys," she said, beckoning with a single finger. "I'm all yours to enjoy."

* * *

"You'd think people'd be loyal to you, sure." Bulda began as she toddled along, her walk having become brisker ever since she mentioned 'feeling like something was about to happen'. The royals were more than happy to walk faster—with the exception of Lysse, who remained in pain for whatever reason—if it meant they could reach the portal Pabbie'd made sooner. None of the group wanted the children exposed for longer than necessary—Elsa especially, as she clutched her precious baby daughter to her chest, though her arms ached as she did so. Cecilie was far from greedy, but that hadn't stopped her from growing quickly.

"They're not, then?" Kristoff prompted, his left hand, not holding onto Kari, rubbing the back of his neck. He spared a glance in the direction of the North Mountain—though for what reason, he couldn't even tell himself—before glancing down to Arendelle. Perhaps people wouldn't be loyal to him, sure, nor Odd, the two of them being lowly people by birth. But Elsa, Anna and all the children... They were essentially the pride of the people, the very symbols of Arendelle itself. The kingdom had flourished under Elsa's queenly hand, growing from a mediocre force to a strong and secure one—or so it had seemed—with a large naval power, only contested by a few richer countries. It didn't seem realistic to assume that the men and women of Arendelle would abandon the royals who had worked so hard for them so readily.

"No. They are very much against you, and it would probably take a lot of work to get them to trust you again." Bulda rolled a few paces before walking once again, a little more of a skip in her step as they seemingly neared the portal. "The people have been told that you are all imposters, using dark blood magic to take the forms of the dead royals in order to try to take power for... whatever sick scheme they think you want. They think you're evil."

"Isn't that what Ayla's got? Blood magic?" Elsa shifted Cecilie in her arms as she spoke and moaned a little at the aching in her limbs; turning to her husband, she smiled and quickly whispered, without thinking, to ask him if he could take over for a bit. He, of course, stiffened up immediately and his teeth gritted a little, making Elsa recoil as she realise her mistake; before she could contradict herself, however, Odd reached out and took the baby somewhat hesitantly, not for the sake of the child but for its mother. He then cradled her as close as he could bear to his body, though there remained a gap between the two until the babe recognised the man's presence, whimpering before turning into him and gripping his cotton shirt tightly, pulling herself to him. Elsa gave a small smile as she saw the actions, but Odd could only tighten his lips ever more, his heart aching with both hatred and a tiny inkling of tolerance.

She was his wife's baby, after all.

"Yeah. She's got blood magic, but the people don't know that. They think she was born with it." Bulda explained as she looked behind herself quickly, checking the family. Happy that they were all okay she looked forwards once again. "The people believed that they watched your funerals; as far as they know—and they've been told this by Sir Thomas, so they believe him an' all—you lot are all ten feet under, in gold-plated caskets to boot. The people really think Svindel was sad about your deaths-" Bulda paused momentarily to make quotation marks with her fingers before shaking her head with a sigh, "-but that man's sick, he is. Almost on the same league as Ayla or Hans or Arne. But... Not quite."

"So, let me get this straight," Anna began, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear as Elsa, arms feeling less leadened now, reached back for her daughter, taking her from Odd who sighed in relief once she had gone. Cecile squirmed a little as she was transferred and mumbled a few quiet complaints as she kicked out at the air, tiny fists flailing as if some strange, invisible force were attacking her. Once she was safely nestled back in her mother's arms, reassuringly warm as Odd's had been but much, much more familiar, she settled fairly rapidly. Anna, after watching her sister and brother-in-law's interactions, she gave a sad sigh of her own and continued. "The people think we're imposters?"

"Yep."

"And they'll _all_ attack us?"

"Well, yeah. More or less."

"So... How do they think they can beat us? Assuming, you know, that they think we have some evil dark magic-y... thingy."

Bulda stopped walking for a second, the eagerly speeding group behind her almost crashing into her as they failed to notice her pause straight away; Lysse, understandably, made the most complaints at the stop, tossing her head and snorting in pain as she longed to reach the safety of the trolls' valley, the place where her friend had promised her the hurting would be resolved. Despite the grumbles, however, Bulda simply turned around slowly, her eyes wide and suddenly filled with fear.

"Fight fire with fire. Fight magic with magic." she said slowly, waiting a few seconds before any of her companions understood her meaning. It was Mia, surprisingly, who spoke up first before any of the adults, her voice tiny.

"They've... They've got Ayla, haven't they?" she breathed, unable to find much volume, but her mother only scoffed a little forcibly at the remark.

"The people wouldn't trust Ayla. Even if they think her magic's not evil, she certainly is!" Anna folded her arms across her chest quickly and glared daggers at the surrounding trees, having no one else to direct her fearful anger towards; all the while, she couldn't help but ache for the poor, demented woman. She'd lost so much, had endured so much... But at the same time, while she may not have believed it herself, she was innately evil. She had always been, and always would be whilst she wielded enough power, a heartless, cold-blooded murderer, incapable of proper remorse for her actions ever since that fateful day when her father was so badly hurt...

"Sorry, Anna." Bulda murmured, before glancing about the woods and then moving on. "The people... They're desperate. They don't see any other choice; to them, trusting Ayla and Hans is the lesser of two evils." Bulda paused as Anna's breath hitched in her throat, but she didn't continue moving, her heart pounding suddenly.

Something was coming... Something large, something which made her spine tingle and made a wind strong enough to let the dandelions in her hair blow away.

"They think that if they don't get the help of the Southern Isles, your family, the imposters, will take their kingdom by force, kill them all. They don't realise that that's kinda what's happened anyway; Eva's too young to make decisions, so Svindel's just telling her what to do. And he's in league with Ayla, he wants her to reward him with magic for getting her the keys to controlling Arendelle."

"So Svindel's doing what Ayla tells him? Like a puppet?" Odd questioned, his face a scowl; how could a man be so lacking in pride? To be used by another person... Odd knew he, himself, couldn't stand it.

"Yep. That's it, he-" Bulda suddenly cut herself off, standing taller—though she still barely came up to any of the adults' thighs—and looking around herself sharply, a deer caught in the carriage lights. She stared for a moment, unmoving, before she whispered, barely moving her lips, "Run!"

The royals, unprepared for the sudden panic which sounded in the troll's voice, didn't react immediately; an arrow, blade glowing crimson, whistled past the group, missing Elsa by mere inches. It didn't take much more encouragement to get them to run than that; Kristoff all but launched each of the children onto poor Lysse's back, and in turn she let out a full blown bellow of terror and pain, bucking so high that Mia had to freeze her siblings' and cousin's legs to her side to stop them from falling off. Never-the-less, the reindeer ran, a jolty, pain-disturbed motion which couldn't have been more uncomfortable—for either party, in fact—if she had tried.

A second arrow whistled by, whistling through one of Anna's pigtails, haphazardly slicing a rough section off. The hairs fell down to the floor amidst the chaos as the royals, foolishly horse-less, ran. The three guards hurried after too, easily able to keep up with the royals who were untrained in running, shooting their own arrows into the forests blindly, not caring what they hit so long as it was not the royals. One even ran with a medium sized gun, bullets blasting into the tree line and surely killing anything they hit.

The surrounding area became a sudden cacophony of noise; birds rushed in flocks, squawking and screeching, from the deadly weapons, and any surrounding deer and mammals fled with careless speed, crashing through the forest with understanding of nothing but terror. One poor creature—a massive elk, it seemed—even ran across the path and into the woods to the right, launching into the cover of the trees only to be struck by a gunshot, its scream deafening.

It disappeared into the night, probably to perish. There was nothing to be done; there was no time to stop.

* * *

The reindeer moaned as he worked through the streets of Arendelle, his head pulled high by the monstrous man upon his back despite his desire to simply drag it along the ground, perhaps even to collapse there. His life nowadays... It wasn't worth living.

Sven was nothing more than a shell of the creature he used to be; where once he had been fit and strong, his entire body now was weak. He'd barely eaten—for what was the point, really, if it was only to prolong this pitiful existence—and it was plain to see when anyone looked at him, his ribs protruding from his side. Of course, he was still a fine specimen—or would be, with many more pounds of fat on him—and as such he was a valuable beast, so much so that his new master—Sven couldn't see him as a friend—insisted on still riding him out with simply a rug to cover him, rather than a horse.

None of the townspeople complained about his situation. They thought this man had rescued the reindeer's life; he was certainly forcing him to live, at any rate.

Sven let out a small bleat of sadness, wishing the people clamouring around him for a stroke—to stroke the mount of a former prince and now a high ranking military soldier was a feat indeed—would realise that he wasn't making a joyful sound, rather a depressed one. But none ever did; they only ever praised the man atop his back for saving the helpless buck's life and for earning the promotion Queen Eva had bestowed upon him.

Though caught up in his own thoughts, Sven's head stopped fighting and jerked itself even higher when a loud, high pitched bleat of terror and pain reached his ears. None of the people around him even reacted at all to the noise—it had been too far off for them to hear—but for Sven... He knew that bleat.

Lysse.

Eyes suddenly opening wide, his ears falling back as he tossed his head, Sven gave a small rear as he found a new, undiscovered strength inside of him; anger. It burned through his veins, making him feel more alive than he had in months.

The man atop his back merely laughed and told the villagers that his poor steed was getting annoyed at having to stand around; he gave Sven a small squeeze as he pushed the reindeer on, reins tight but his posture relaxed. He thought nothing was wrong; how wrong he was.

A twig snapped below Sven's cloven hoof; at the same time, so did he. Bucking in the air as high as he possibly could, the reindeer spun around in a circle quickly, heart pounding with adrenaline. Feeling his now-yelling rider slipping—what a pleasurable sound—he bombed off as fast as his hooves could possibly carry him, heading straight for a wooden fence at which he skidded to a stop.

The man's breathing was heavy as he slouched a little in the saddle, sighing that it was over, but his mount's eyes were glinting now; taking a few steps back, Sven then leaped over the fence from a halt, the most jolting and unpleasant type of jump. The soldier was thrown flying from his back, landing in a nearby bush of roses, and the reindeer gave a short snort as he landed, before rearing up once and pelting off into the distance.

He had to save his family.

* * *

"Twenty more metres!" Bulda yelled as she rolled on ahead, keeping pace with the now heaving royals who all followed after her. Arrows flew in all directions, one cleaning slicing through Elsa's cheek, another grazing Kristoff's nose and a final one making a gash across Anna's forehead. A glowing arrow barely missed Mia's leg, slicing through the material of her dress instead which then burned away at the point of impact; a rusted spear bounced off of Lysse's antlers and very nearly lodged itself in Kari's foot.

As the royals neared it, a large boulder just a little way away from a large, algae-covered lake began to glow the brightest of yellows; Lysse, bouncing ahead at the front of the group, took one look at it and gave a massive scream of both pain and relief, leaping into the rock without needing to be told to and disappearing inside it; Anna let out a scream as she watched all of her children disappear, but was reassured when Bulda stopped by it, beckoning in a rushed manner for the rest of the royals to follow.

"Come on, come on!" she whispered harshly, though there was no need; whoever was following could hear everything that was going on. "Hide in the valley; come on, quickly!"

Anna and Kristoff jumped through first, both leaping through the portal rapidly as Bulda followed after; Elsa, slowed down by having to carry Cecilie in her arms, made up the rear with Odd, her eyes widening as she neared it. Five metres quickly became four, then three and then two; the portal was so close...

And then, just as she could nearly reach out her fingers and touch the magical yellow aura, an arrow whistled across her hand, making her recoil with a scream of pain as her flesh was seared. Blood rushed down in a stream and little Cecilie, already crying quietly, screamed louder than it should have even been possible for such a little thing; all the while her mother's blubbering attempts at being quiet made her evermore distressed.

Elsa, distracted by the pain as she tried to make an icy bandage to stem the blood flow, let out a second cry as she felt something smash into her. She realised it was Odd soon after, and his motivations became clear when she looked up from her vulnerable position on the floor, seeing a massive log laying just a little way away from the space where she had just stood.

"Oh!" she cried, hands still trembling and her vision blurring from the agony; her eyes widened however as she felt herself jerked up again and through the fuzzy image before her eyes, she could see Odd yanking off his shirt quickly, wrapping it around her hand at breakneck speed as he watched out constantly, having to pull her to the side half way through as an arrow whistled past.

Whoever was attacking was no considerable force, but at the same time their shots were with as much accuracy as his own.

"Pull yourself together!" he hissed, his eyes glinting in anger, and Elsa nodded quickly, trying to ignore the mind-numbing pain which made her feel as if her hand had almost been entirely cut off. Cecilie's screams, she ignored too; there was no time to pander to her daughter's fears, as much as she hated to ignore her when the wails were so terrified. Nodding once, she looked around stiffly, shifting Cecilie into her now-injured arm and raising the good hand readily. "You need to make an ice wall. Stop… whoever it is getting to us. We've gotta get through that portal."

"G-got it."

Raising her hand in a quick, jerky manner, Elsa gritted her teeth at the extra strain and watched two great walls materialise between her and Odd and the forest. Freezing the back wall to fully enclose them in, she then nodded once and ran, her focus on the portal which was now further away than it had been before.

Time seemed to slow as she ran, and the dull thudding of a heavy fist against the ice wall sounded particularly long and low. Odd's cry of, "Faster, Elsa!" seemed ironically sluggish too, his words almost slurring. And then, for just one moment, time stopped entirely as the ice smashed, despite her best efforts; a brute of a man, with hair of soot and eyes of flames, jumped before her, snarling as he gripped a large sword tightly, his knuckles white.

"You wanna get to the portal?" he said, fingering the tip of his blade gently before he swung it out, holding it up above his head. The dim light glinted off of the metal, somewhat blinding for all who saw it. "Be my guest. I'll make clean work of you; I'll go gentle and leave you in two halves."

Elsa took a step backwards and opened her free hand as Odd leaned a little closer, both of his fists clenched, his eyes narrowed. The man only laughed a little, slicing the air with the sword once again. Elsa took her chance as he did so, trying to ignore the tears of pain which shone in her eyes, and jerked up the ice once more, letting it crash into his chin and sending him reeling backwards, smashing into the rock at the edge of the boulder. He groaned a little as he pushed back up, his sword now laying on the floor; he recognised his mistake immediately and snarled, digging his toe up under the blade and flicking it up into the air, grabbing it by the edge and slicing his hand, but he barely flinched as his own blood coated the metal.

Seeing the blood trickling down the sword, Elsa glanced down at her bloodied hand wrapped with her husband's shirt and saw the crimson stain soaking through the material. She moaned as she felt a new wave of pain overwhelm her at the sight, before her legs gave way a second later as she released a second burst of magic at the man, her head spinning and her sight blurring once more. She saw through her teared-up vision the man stumble back but her attack had very little effect; his hand came to rest against the wall and he pushed off with all the force he could, his sword outstretched as he all but flew towards Elsa. She cradled her daughter to her chest, bracing for the impact... Which never came.

Squinting open an eye, Elsa gasped as she saw a bare chest just above her face, shaking with exertion. The muscles, obvious but not overly prominent, bulged in Odd's arms as he gave a loud yell. With his feet braced against the ground, he took a slow step forwards and then rapidly drew back, letting the larger man—so strong that the prince was no contender at all—fall forwards a little before Odd slammed back into him a moment later, the sudden action catching him off guard and sending him hurtling to the ground. He landed with a heavy thud, head smashing against the rock. He shook for a second, struggling to get up, before he faltered and fell back once again, his body still, the blood soaking the dirt around his head.

Elsa remained quiet as she recognised Cecilie's screams once again, the danger over now, and she made a few small snowflakes to try and distract her, though to no avail; instead, she began to rock back forth, humming a gentle tune over and over. She watched all the while as her husband, still breathing heavily, reached forwards and picked up the sword from the black-haired man's hand, prodding him gently, testing whether or not he was dead.

"O-Odd?" Elsa's voice was timid and somewhat shaky, and as her husband turned around she suddenly saw his pale face and wide, horrified eyes. A small coating of blood from the spear coated his hands, and he was still heaving from the massive effort it had cost him. "Odd, th-thank you. You... Saved me." She looked down at the whimpering child in her arms and murmured, with a hopeful glance in his direction, "You saved _us_."

Odd froze for a moment, a shocked expression on his face as he looked down at the young baby in Elsa's arms, saw her turn her head towards him and reach out quietly and bat at the air, before recoiling quickly and screaming; he frowned and turned away, focusing his interests on the water-like matter in the portal, rippling in waves of yellow.

"Come on, we'd better-" Odd began to speak but broke off before he finished as he heard the sound of Elsa's yelp and an ice wall being erected. A second later, a deafening smash sounded as a second person smashed his way in, an ageing man with eyes of grey and dark, grey-brown hair finished with a platinum blonde streak. He stood there confidently, a dagger in his hand, and Odd, so strong before, froze in horror.

"_You!_" Elsa hissed, struggling to stand up, not willing to be intimidated any longer by her own father-in-law. As she tried to stand proud, however, she caught his gaze looking down at Cecilie and she shrunk back a little. "Get away from me." She waved her hand quickly and grinned as she watched an icy spear materialise in the air, zooming towards the man with a gust of frigid wind and impaling his shoulder, making him roar in pain as he jerked the arrow out. Hissing, he threw it to the ground, stamping on it and snapping it in two.

Odd, meanwhile, felt his world slowing down, just as his wife's had earlier; he watched as his father's face drew into a vicious snarl, saw his arm raising higher and higher as the dagger prepared to fly. He heard his wife's scream in slow motion as she sent a larger spear of ice his way, and he saw his father's weapon leave his hand, heading in the direction of Elsa—or, more specifically, the baby in her arms.

And in that moment, his mind was made up; after hurling the spear in the general direction of Arne, with a speed he didn't know he could reach, he launched himself towards his wife and her child, his bare body intercepting the dagger's path. It lodged fully in his right side, the entire blade consumed by the flesh and it made him cry out, though the pain he'd expected to come didn't. His body crashed to the dirt floor and he skidded two metres, the stones tearing at his flesh and leaving his left side looking like some mangled carcass.

"ODD!"

Elsa's agonised cry reached his muffled ears and Odd looked up slowly, his eyes suddenly feeling incredibly heavy. In fact, his whole body felt that way.

With a groan, he stumbled to his feet, his side burning a little as he looked around, dazed. His green eyes locked on his father's grey after a few seconds of searching; seeing him perfectly fine, barely more than scratched, made his blood boil! And then, shifting a little to try and get a better position for fighting, Odd felt the pain suddenly overcome him.

It was like nothing he'd ever known, an agony that he'd never felt before. His entire body began to burn up, his head swimming, his side feeling as if it was aflame. Glancing down, he felt sickened to see only the handle of the knife; fingering it, he let out a full-blown scream as it shifted slightly and he collapsed to his hands and knees, gasping. All sound was a thing of the past; he could barely hear his wife's agonised cries against the torturous sound of his own blood.

Turning his head to Elsa, gritting his teeth all the while as he did so, he whispered in a course voice, a little blood bubbling in his throat and trickling down his chin, "I'm sorry..." He then turned to face his father slowly, collapsing on his torn-up left side as he watched the monster approaching—though by now, his vision was so blurred that he could hardly make out a single one of his features. Only a rough outline.

Groaning, he shuffled forwards on torn up flesh, looking up at his father in agony. He tried his best to watch his actions, and screamed and writhed and kicked and yelled as his father pushed the blade ever deeper into his side.

"I've waited a long time to be done with you, boy." Arme snarled in his ear, though Odd strained to hear it, his body still spasming. Once the twitching stopped, he felt himself begin to simply shake, a cold wave overcoming him as he began to sweat profoundly. "I must thank you for the family you've delivered to me; these two will be perfect starts to Ayla's scheme for power. Their deaths won't be wasted; their blood will empower a new generation of greatness. Your wife as the brood are, and as for that bastard child; it is a perfect candidate."

Arne began to rise up again, disregarding his son as he simply kicked him in the groin with such force that it was incredible he was not winded, but as the words settled in Odd's mind, he felt his blood boiling again. And, reaching up, he grabbed his father's shirt with as much strength as he could possibly muster, incapable of seeing a thing as the pain overwhelmed him. His breaths were slow and heavy now, stolen time, as he snarled and reached for the dagger at his side, clenching his hand around it and yanking it out with a heart-wrenching scream, more profound than any of the previous ones, and he raised it high, his arm very nearly falling to the ground, his body suddenly completely powerless.

He closed his eyes and took a shaky breath, opening them again and seeing absolutely nothing other than a few shades of white and grey; nevertheless he could still feel his way and, with the last ounce of strength he possessed, he drove the blade, bloodied from gallons of his own blood, right into his father's temple, sending the man recoiling, falling to his knees with a scream of his own.

And Odd, who barely had the energy to open his eyes, hauled his heavy body to his father's side. He knelt there, his very legs and arms fumbling to support himself, his blood a sticky trail on the ground, and, with a glance in what he hoped to be Elsa's direction, he gripped the blade in his agonised father's head and said, in the smallest, feeblest and most gurgled voice imagineable, "That bastard child... Is my daughter!" And then he twisted, sending the blade deeper into his skull and ending his father's life just like that.

At long last.

Finally, he returned his gaze once more to his wife's general direction—he could just about hear her own screams and feel the chill coating his body form that side—and he smiled, his eyes closing, his breathing shallow and impossibly uneven. Nevertheless he clung on, a tiny cheeky grin on his face.

"That's my girls," he slurred out, but as he felt a hand on his cheek he stopped, appreciating the slight warmth of his wife's skin; his body was ever so cold. And then, just as she murmured some indistinguishable sentence, he felt himself lose his grip on reality, collapsing to the floor. And then Odd simply lay there, not understanding a thing and drifting off into a sleep of sorts, his body too battered and bruised to survive—and yet impossibly still going, his every heart beat for the family he'd worked so long to achieve.

* * *

**I... I... I... Wow! 7,000 words! Go me, go me!**

**...**

**Oh god, you're all gonna kill me, aren't you? But seriously, wait and see what happens before you come in mobs to burn my house down, 'Kay?**

**Good. No killing me yet.**

**Another thing, sorry, it wasn't quite as good as I intended, nevertheless I tried my best.**

**(Also, can I just mention that Elsa did try to use her powers, but it wasn't easy with a screaming baby in one arm, her own mind terrified and her husband almost right in the crossfire.)**

**-Luna**


	53. Chapter 53 - dedicated to Annigirl93

_spartandestroyr: _**I'm so glad you like Odd and that the fight scene was adequate. As for whether he'll die or not... Well, I can't make promises either way. Anything could happen at this stage. Oh, and don't worry, there's a few more chapters still. I think I'll do either one or two fight scenes and there will also be two epilogue scenes as well.**

_AnniGirl93:_ **Ah, I don't know what I'll do with Odd! Well, I do, but Ai won't say anything and ruin the surprise! But it's good to know I did alright with the fighting (phew...)**

_Kathy22334 (guest):_ **Oh, wow. Thank you so much!**

_KLime (Guest):_ **Yup, 7,000 words! That was the longest chapter so far! Hehe, maybe it is a research project into... Strange dark magic and twisted / abusive ****fathers? And yay, so glad the chapter was good. I definitely put a lot of effort into it. And... wow. Never thought I'd hear my fanfiction being compared to a Shakespearean tragedy! Wow, that puts me in a good mood! I'm certainly glad I managed to pull it off—I may be able to do torture, but I'm not convinced on my fight-scene skills. So, yeah, thanks!**

_WildVirus (guest):_ **Yep, Odd's been needing a chance to shine for a while now. And haha, frozen walking dead... Interesting xD meh, I'm not that keen on zombie apocalypses actually, they creep me out (yes, me!) but I might do some other frozen fic one day. Mind you, I'm actually thinking of writing an original fic at the minute (but I may not go through with it).**

* * *

"What's taking them!" Anna hissed, struggling against her husband's lock on her and fighting to be free. She gazed towards the portal eagerly with steely, determined eyes. Kristoff looked down at her strawberry-blonde head with an even greader resolve.

"Stop struggling, Anna! They'll be fine!" Kristoff snarled, drawing his wife even closer to his body so that he almost squashed her lungs. "Elsa's not weak, and Odd's a hard-headed guy. He won't let her get hurt, don't worry yourself."

Anna stopped her struggling for a moment and Kristoff's grip slackened on her momentarily; as she tried to break free a second later, he immediately tightened it once again. She gave a groan at her husband's persistence and hung her head, though she continued to writhe. "But Elsa's got Cecilie! She can't protect herself, Odd and Cecilie all at the same time!"

"Eh, maybe not, but surely Odd'll make up where she fails, hmm? You forget that he's a decent fighter."

"But he hasn't got a knife!" Anna wailed, groaning. "He's not as strong as you are, Kristoff! He's only average strength!"

"Stop stressing yourself already, Fiestypants," Kristoff said, his tone firm. "Odd will-"

The remainder of Kristoff's sentence was cut off as the portal began to glow bright yellow once again, and through it the tattered cream dress of Elsa slowly began to emerge, followed by the sounds of a screaming baby and a few tiny, choked back sobs. It was an agonising ten seconds as she tried to creep through the portal to the other side, Cecilie held to her back by a (surely freezing) strap of ice, and in the woman's arms a man's body, the top half unclothed, lay limp. Anna, suddenly rooted in place, only let a squeak out of her mouth as she felt her husband's arms fall from her side, he himself rushing over to retrieve the poor Queen of her burden. As he did so, Elsa collapsed to the floor with a cry of agony, though Anna could tell instinctively that it was not caused by the wound which had bloodied the shirt around her wrist; indeed, as she finally recovered her senses upon seeing the pain and rushed over to retrieve her screaming niece and help her equally hurt sister, she knew that Odd wasn't just unconscious from fatigue, though she hadn't quite picked up on the extent of his condition yet.

She couldn't even bear to spare a glance and find out; but, as she continued to try to soothe her sister, she couldn't help looking over to his body.

The sight that met her eyes was horrific; through the panicking bustle of trolls—Grand Pabbie had been called to help out too—Anna could make out the bloodied mess of Odd's side, and more horrifyingly the gaping wound in his right, crudely frozen over to try and stop the blood flow.

His is skin was even paler than Elsa's, if it was at all possible.

Gasping, Anna returned her attention to her sister, whispering quietly, "Shush, shush. It'll be okay…" over and over. Elsa, however, did not hear her words, only rocking back and forth constantly in a distressed manner. Even as Anna tried to soothe her by handing her little baby Cecilie to comfort, she barely responded at all; it was as if she was in a trance.

Pabbie turned up a minute or two later, breathing heavily as if he'd come a long way. The trolls parted ways quickly for him, and he hurried to Odd's side, waving his hands over the body slowly.

"He has lost a lot of blood, and his pulse is weak. He may make it, he may not; but I will do my best to help him survive. He is a strong man, and he has a lot of love for you, all of you." Pabbie took a breath as he placed a hand first on Odd's massive stab wound, shuddering as he did so and wincing. "The best you can do is leave him here, and get on without him; if he is to have any chance of survival, there must be a positive atmosphere. Your fretting will not allow such a thing; perhaps the air is already to polluted with fear to let him recover."

Pabbie rolled away from Odd's side quickly as other trolls quickly took up his place, wrapping the wounds with leafy bandages.

"I shall set up a portal directly to your ship, but you must go now. It is time to fight." He turned to Kristoff now, nodding once and smiling proudly. "Do your family proud, my boy. And the rest of you, too; reclaim your kingdom, and settle this whole mess.

"That is my deal for you. I will do my best to help your prince, if you will do your best to save us from this tyranny."

Kristoff and Anna nodded blindly, while Elsa only looked up slowly, almost seeming to have not heard a word of what the troll said. After a few moments, though, she looked at the face of her poor husband, his lips a thin line of determination, and she stood on unsteady legs, wiping away the tears and passing her precious daughter to Bulda.

"Take care of her," she whispered, thinking of Odd's sacrifice for the pair of them. "Take care of our children."

"We will." Bulda replied, smiling as best as she could, just as a loud, deafening reindeer's bleat sounded from the forest. Sven thundered through the trees, tossing his head and bellowing a war cry; when he saw his family, however, he skidded to a stop, panting and gawking at them all. He remained that way for a minute, glancing between Lysse—who was now laying on the floor a little way off from the rest of the group—and Kristoff, before he galloped over to the former with a squeal, nuzzling behind the doe's ear quickly before immediately running to his human buddy, leaping at him—with no regard at all for the dangers of his massive chipped antlers—and landing on him heavily, knocking the man to the ground. He bleated happily, tossing his head and covering his face in reindeer slobber as he gave an excited little buck.

Kristoff, however, only smiled a little; Sven jumped backwards quickly, cocking his head at his human's lack of excitement. However, as he sniffed the air he suddenly twitched, his hoof raising quickly as he tossed his head in distress, then falling to the ground and covering his head with his legs. Moaning, he looked up to Kristoff with large, scared eyes, trying to dig the dirt up over his head and body as if he could hide.

_That smell! It's… It's blood!_

"Woah, boy. Easy." Kristoff said, reaching down and scratching behind the reindeer's ear, though his own hand was shaking slightly. Sven whined a little at his friend's own distress, though he did stand when told to do so. "It's okay, it's just Odd. He's… He's hurt, but he'll be better soon. I… Hope. Pabbie's gonna heal him." He stroked Sven's nose and then turned towards the newly formed portal, sighing as he stole a glance at his brother in law, wincing at the sight of his erratic breathing. "Come on, we'd… We'd better get going."

Bulda rolled over and took hold of her son's palm, rubbing it gently, coating it in a fine dust. Kristoff raised his hand, frowning at it.

"Lepidolite." The troll said, patting his dusted skin. "For luck."

Kristoff gave a watery smile before hopping up onto Sven's back, though he felt guilty at riding the somewhat frail creature. "Thanks, Ma." he said, before gripping onto the hair of Sven's neck, his harness long gone, and galloping through the portal. Anna stood slowly too, pulling Elsa up with her, and walked her through the portal too just as Lysse let out an agonised bellow of pain.

.

The fleet had no need to land at the docks of Arendelle; a massive pathway of rough ice, forged by Elsa's power, joined up every one of the attacking ships, leading to the mainland. Men poured from their boats in swarms, descending upon the walkway with their swords held high and shields in front, bellowing battle cries as they followed after massive beasts of snow which had sprung forth, their intimidating presence only amplified as they swung flails and maces around their bodies, their roars resounding throughout the entire Kingdom.

There was no point in being silent. The whole of Arendelle's army, supported by the military might of the Southern Isles' forces too, was waiting for them at the other end. But, in comparison to Victoria's massive fleet of one hundred ships—not quite the full scale of her navy, amazingly—the Norwegian and Danish defences looked feeble, amounting to about 45 and 20 respectively; Corona's contribution of ten battleships was absolutely puny. But, for now, violence was a waste; as the Queen of the people she would now be fighting, Elsa couldn't bear to attack without first giving them a chance. Besides, attacking would mean destroying the very kingdom she sought to save.

"My people," she said in a weak, unsteady voice, her words repeated by one of her four snow beasts, capable of shouting much louder than she. "I do not wish to fight you, but this tyranny must come to a close now. Step down, and there shall be no bloodshed; I long for peace just as much as you do, but that will not happen with the current situation."

For a moment, the people fell silent at the words, as if contemplating the option; Elsa's heart, aching for her husband and children, lifted a little at the people's willingness. But it did not last, and she had been a fool to think it would; the Norwegian and Danish soldiers cried as they raised their own swords high in the air once again, and the German and British followed suit, charging on horseback or otherwise on foot towards the enemy.

"Come on, sis." Anna said quietly, he voice shaky too. She laced her fingers into her sister's hand and shivered at the familiar feeling of the ice flowing through her veins. "We've gotta get down there; this is our battle as much as theirs."

"Yeah," Elsa murmured, climbing up onto High Flyer's back and pulling on the reins a little jerkily to liven him up. "Follow me; we'll have to attack from the side if we're to have any chance of not being slaughtered."

Anna's eyes widened at the statement as she mounted her own mare, patting her side. It was a shocking thing to hear. Meanwhile Kristoff stepped forwards on Sven, grinning with a rebellious, devilish excitement. His wife glared at him for his foolishness, but he only laughed.

"Oh, shut up. It's every man's dream to defend his country in battle!" Cloaked in full armour, he clinked as he spoke. Drawing his sword out with a dramatic swish, he held it up above his head as he gripped Sven's fur with his free hand, the sea wind blowing through his hair. The dim light almost made him look like a shadowy nightmare. "You two go; Sven and me'll run on ahead, distract 'em."

"Sven and I, Kristoff," Anna murmured, but her teasing tone hardly lightened her's or her sister's hearts. Seeing him chuckle, she then realised with shocking clarity what he was going to do; she opened her mouth to shout out to him but he was gone already, thundering across the track and straight into an oncoming surge of soldiers, fighting valiantly, his massive sword, made from the finest German metal and coated with diamond imported all the way from Romanov Russia, slashing through the masses, bringing a few men down—Kristoff wasn't a killer, not really—and pushed the rest backwards. Sven snorted and tossed his head all the while, spinning around and bucking at men foolish enough to get close to his powerful hindquarters. Though weakened from neglect, he was still a powerful foe.

"Quick, Anna!" Elsa whispered, standing at the side of the ship, one hand open and ready to cast. She, too, was clothed in a full set of iron armour, as was her sister, the only difference being the icy crown which rested atop her head, slightly larger and more intricately decorated than the beautiful tiara which sat atop Anna's. Both bore the crest of Arendelle boldly; they were its rulers, after all.

The horses, similarly cladded in chain mail and iron, reared up quickly as their owners pushed them on, then tearing across the rough icy path that the elder woman had created. Both mare and gelding ran at top speed, slowed only slightly by their armour, their hearts pounding as they raced. They were headed home; it was a brilliant motivation.

"Ready, Anna?" Elsa yelled as she drew out her sword, holding it high above. As Kristoff's was, it was coated with diamond and was a lethal creation; Rapunzel had gone all out on supplying both her people, and especially her family, with the best she could afford. It had taken much bartering and a lot of rooting around in the old stores to make it all up, but in the end she'd managed to raise a small but fairly mighty force.

"No!" Anna cried back, her eyes wide as she drew her own sword too with a little less grace than her sister, but she held it high in her shaking hands. Though she was absolutely terrified—not to say her sister was any less scared—a spark of determination shone amidst the blue, the slight glinting off of her blade. "But we've got no choice anyway, so let's get on with it!"

Elsa beamed proudly as she watched her sister tear on ahead across the path before she pushed High Flyer on to catch up, her spurs squeezing his side gently. She held his head high as they galloped and he let out a great, excited whinny; a second later, as the soldiers on the mainland noted their presence, he skidded to a stop, rearing, terrified, as did Misty. It took all of the royals' strength to stay atop their mounts' backs, but they did not panic; to do so would only rile the horses up more.

"Come on, Anna!" Elsa shouted over the thunderous noise of the approaching soldiers, fighters for Arendelle and the Southern Isles working in collaboration. "We've got to do this!"

Summoning a wall of ice up behind her and the horses so that they could not run away, Elsa pointed her sword forwards and gave High Flyer a sharp kick with the spurs, feeling guilty for the sharp pain it would cause but knowing there was no choice. She felt him lurch into a gallop, and could see the terror burning in his eyes; as Anna did the same, her job easier and Misty rushed to keep up, not wanting to be alone, Elsa patted his shoulder gently and whispered, "Good boy", feeling his tight muscles loosen a little at the reassurance and at his rider's confidence. He was a good horse.

Pushing her gelding to keep going as the soldiers drew nearer, Elsa stood in her stirrups slightly as High Flyer leapt onto solid ground from the ice, galloping flat out as he did so. Already sweat was beginning to bead around the base of his neck, despite the training he'd had in Corona, and Misty seemed in a similar situation. Both women could only hope their horses would have enough strength and stamina to pull the mission off.

The mob rushed forwards, screaming and shouting, but few were on horseback; they were a collection of foot soldiers, with the odd rider in their midst. All brandished swords and yelled as they rushed forwards; their attack was quickly halted as the ground beneath them became frozen and they all were sent sliding back.

"We don't want to fight you!" Elsa yelled in Norwegian, hoping some of the Danish would understand too. "We want peace, we really do, but if you will fight us then we shall have no choice but to retaliate!"

The soldiers were persistent as they struggled to climb the sloping wall of ice, barely a meter high but ever so slippery. They snarled and shouted as they tried to heave their bodies up over the top, some resorting to blunting their swords by digging them into the ice as a pickaxe.

As a few men began to make their way over, a few brave soldiers surrounding the two royals on horseback, Anna tried once again to reason with them. Killing one's own people was harsh, and was hardly a sure-fire way of getting support.

"You don't understand! Sir Svindel's using Pri—Queen Eva to get what he wants! He's working alongside Prince Hans and Princess Ayla! He's a madman, he always was coldhearted. He never thought about the innocent much, even when he worked for my sister and me—he'll just kill you all for sure!"

One soldier, a young man Anna recognised from the village—the now-grown boy who had once, years ago, called little Mia a freak—paused, his sword lowering a little as his tense body became a little less frozen; a second later, he let out a blood curdling scream as a slash of metal sent his hand flying from his body.

He howled in pain as the sword fell too with a clatter to the ground and then dropped to his knees, his blood staining the grass below him. As the older man behind him hissed, "You traitor!", he turned his gaze up to Elsa, tears shining in his eyes. And, horrified by the agonised look on his face—and the pond of blood below him—she took pity, thinking of her poor husband, tightly wrapping the gushing stump with a bandage of ice so tightly that she was amazed it didn't make that section of arm fall off too. He screamed as she did so, but it was for a good cause; he fainted soon after, the icy bandage reddened but not so badly as it was.

"How dare you!" Anna hissed, spinning Misty to face the man as more scrambled over Elsa's icy slope, all looking down at the fallen young man and faltering, before they returned their attention to the queen and princess, brandishing their weapons. Anna barely flinched. "How dare you hurt your own comrade!" Her eyes, previously fearful, now shone with pure malice as she pushed Misty forwards, her blade slashing at the older man's chest fiercely, missing twice as he dodged with skill; but as he leapt away from her for the third time, he misjudged his jump, landing right behind High Flyer and clipping his flank with his blade, not enough to draw blood but plenty to terrify the creature. He bellowed as he bucked, his hooves smashing against the man's chest and sending him hurtling into a rock, smashing his head in.

He didn't move.

The soldiers watching quietly recoiled slightly before realising that more men were still coming; well aware of the fate that would befall them if they were traitors, they ran forwards, a mob of men with swords so sharp. Perhaps not as deadly as the royals', but certainly covering a much greater area.

"For Arendelle!" One young man cried as he rushed forwards, his sword pointed directly at Misty until he stopped dead, quite literally as a blade of ice impaled his stomach. Anna yelped as she realised it had come about as a result of her own magic, but there was nothing to be done as yet more men came forwards.

Elsa slashed her sword through the air as she turned High Flyer on a point, sending him galloping around the outskirts of the soldiers; her left hand, previously holding the reins, released itself too and she opened her palm at the men, shards of ice, deadly sharp, materialising in the air. They hovered for a minute before Elsa waved her hand, creating a wind strong enough to propel them forwards, the projectiles striking her attackers. Some recoiled; others carried on and were struck by the blades, making them howl in pain as they thawed. Men fell to the ground, their own life blood gushing to the floor, but Elsa had no time to help them as she rushed on, her sword still slashing, tears staining her eyes. Somewhere in the distance, the first canon sounded.

Anna, too, took advantage of her position on horseback, sending great waves of hail at her own attackers, knocking them back a little as she tried to land a blow with her sword, unable to fatally harm anyone but causing fairly serious wounds which, at least, succeeded in sending some of her foes to the ground.

But still more men came; in minutes, there were at least fifty, all eager to win, all believing they were serving their kingdom. They threw stones and sliced through the air with their swords, one man close enough to strike a blow on High Flyer's underbelly, having aimed for the queen.

That earned him in a hoof in the face.

But, as the battle raged on, it became quite clear that the royals could not win as they were; there were simply too many men to take on without backup.

Elsa screamed as an arrow, fired from somewhere up above, struck her wrist, impaling itself fairly deeply. With a sudden primal need to survive, she felt herself grow ever more dangerous as she slashed ever more at her attackers, cutting them down momentarily with no remorse. And then, a second later, she realised what she had done and screamed louder, her mind in turmoil as the ground below her began to freeze…

And then she knew what she had to do.

Raising her wounded arm, she moaned as she began to summon her powers, the action making her wrist burn even more, but she pushed through, letting out a yell as a great ball of snow and ice materialised above the scene, crashing down to the ground and exploding all over the fighters, burying them, leaving only a few lucky stragglers on the outskirts behind. Snarling, she raised her hand once again, blood pounding in her ears, and screamed as she sent a few last daggers of ice their way, it being enough to knock them far enough back for escape.

"Come on, Anna!" she cried, galloping away from the scene and, horrifyingly, towards the main battle; but at least there there would be support. "Quickly!"

Anna glanced at the devastation before her before she nodded, galloping around the edge as she rushed after her older sister, her bloodied sword in hand. And, once the two were out of the sight, the snow was thawed away, revealing the freezing and wounded—but, for the most part, alive—soldiers who had been buried underneath.

* * *

Rapunzel whimpered a little as she put on a brave face, her sabre, emblazoned with the crest of Corona, held tightly in her left hand, the reins in her right. She tried to sit tight despite the heavy weight of the cold armour as her mount, upon whose armour a spear was cohered out in front to ward off attackers, galloped forwards, ever so brave as she placed all of her faith in her rider.

Perhaps she was too trusting; who could guarantee she'd survive?

"You okay there, Blondie?" Eugene's voice called out to her as he rode past, his sword slashing at the skittish mount of an approaching Danish soldier, sending the horse to its knees and its rider to the ground. The man rose his sword by means of protecting himself, but to no avail; Max's hooves stomped down upon him just below, completely crushing his armour and internal organs, making blood bubble up in his mouth. Eugene then swiped his sword again as a group of foot soldiers advanced, more than a match for him alone—though it hurt him to admit it. "Hey! Could use a hand here, Punzel!"

He gritted his teeth as an arrow ripped through the chain mail of his armour and scratched his skin, drawing blood; in response, he yelled and swiped the sword again, striking an Arrendellian axeman whose weapon had been raised to strike, his own blade making a great gash through his arm and sending him stumbling backwards, his weapon falling as his arm fell to his side, limp, as blood flowed out. The man screamed in horror as the limb flopped uselessly, crying, "My arm won't work!" while Rapunzel gave a short gasp, looking to her husband accusingly before she realised that she was under attack herself and yelped, watching a dagger flying towards her just as yet another round of canon balls was fired, shooting towards the mainland and smashing everything they hit to pieces; there was no care taken to ensure only the enemy was hit. It was a tactic of attrition.

"Queen!"

A mounted soldier, one of Corona's noblemen, cantered forward, his lance smashing into the side of an attacking footman as the woman ducked, the dagger flying over her head and just clipping her ear.

"My Queen, you must concentrate!" the nobleman yelled, spinning his horse around so that his lance took out four men in one go as a canon ball flew overhead, smashing into a house in the village and almost immediately letting it set alight. He then galloped forwards, the spear point impaling the chest of a Danish man's horse, but not without his own mount's foreleg getting slashed, the great beast keeling under the weight. The rider rolled off, groaning as he rolled a little way, struggling to stand but to no avail, his armour too heavy; his eyes widened as a mob of men came to him, shouting as one aimed a bow right at his head, ready to fire…

And then, all in one go, they were mowed down by a hefty man atop a reindeer, brandishing a sword of crimson and wearing a bitter grimace upon his face as he nodded once to the noble before cantering off, followed by an onslaught of attacking cavalrymen and footmen.

Rapunzel watched quietly, suddenly screaming as she felt the very slight pain and shock of a sword hitting the steel of her armour; spinning around, she saw a young man hissing at her, his arm raised to strike again… And she attacked, her blade smashing into his side, catching him just below the armour covering his chest and signing his death warrant there and then, his lifeblood leaking in a waterfall from the massive wound.

Rapunzel froze for a minute, her mouth opening into a small 'o' shape until she saw her husband a few metres off, surrounded on all sides by foot soldiers and incapable of quite taking them all on. And, her blood suddenly boiling, she gritted her teeth and raised her sword again, her eyes blazing.

She was the Queen of Corona and she would not go down in history as a weak monarch. No—she would, from this day forth, be known as a powerful warrior Queen, to be depicted in paintings with sword in hand and short brown hair blowing in the wind, her golden crown sat atop her head in its rightful, earned place. And, with a shout of, "For Arendelle!" she thundered forwards, her blade taking down men with no force needed whatsoever.

* * *

The woman stood quietly at the edge of the field, her lips drawn in a thin line. At present, the situation gave no clues as to whether or not the gamble would be a success, but Victoria had no fears; her armies were strong and, if it had to be done, she would have all of this kingdom bombarded with canon balls. But she would not fail, of that fact she was almost certain.

Not too far away, Victoria's eyes landed upon one of her most valued and trusted nobles, under siege by soldiers of Arendelle, all brandishing their weapons like madmen. They weren't as trained as her own troops, but that was fine; once she secured an alliance with the kingdom, she would help it—and Corona, too, for she was determined to get their support too—improve its military. In the meantime, it made them all the easier to beat.

Climbing up onto her beautiful mare, Rosa, the queen sat perfectly regally as she rode out on sidesaddle, her own sword held high, smiling as she galloped to help out her falling comrade. There was, to be sure, a reason she was so respected and feared; she was truly a force to be reckoned with, something which the attacking men could vouch for if only they'd had the strength left to stand once she'd passed by.

It would be a long afternoon for them, no doubt about it.

* * *

The moon gleamed brightly in the night, shrouding the land not in pitch blackness but rather in varying shades of dark grey, lending just enough light to allow poor vision. Such was enough for the young girl who walked down to the village slowly, her curiosity fuelled by a need to support her family in this fighting. She had some degree of talent, so she should lend it to her mother and father and aunt if she could.

Pushing her horse forwards, having had no other option of transport, poor Lysse being out of action after all she'd been through, Mia's mind began to wander slightly as she pondered why the creature had been out and about around the trolls' valley. Perhaps he had belonged to one of the men who had attacked them earlier that day. Still, it was a fairly long distance; but perhaps not, considering it had been at least six or seven hours between her family having been attacked and the stallion turning up.

"C'mon, boy," Mia whispered, patting the horse's shoulder gently with absolute confidence; something about this black, thoroughbred-ish stallion put her at ease, though she couldn't place what it was that made her feel so calm with him. "We need to get going and-"

Mia trailed off as a peculiar feeling enveloped her senses and then, suddenly, she was jerked from the stallion's back, hovering in mid-air as she glowed faintly. The horse whinnied and bucked, shouting at the child as if telling her to follow him, but then he ran off into the distance, galloping down to the town and leaving her alone.

She could not move. She could not scream. She could only watch as a woman, tall and slender with eyes of glaucous-blue and hair of golden blonde, stepped forwards, her hand glowing a bright shade of red.

"Hello, Mia, darling," she said, a grin on her face as she walked closer, a small blonde-haired boy trailing behind her, scuffing his feet. The young princess gasped as she saw him approach; he could only steal a tiny, guilty peak before looking away again. "You know my son, Seth, don't you?"

Mia could only blubber a little in response, tears forming in her eyes. She had trusted Seth; he had been her best friend. But she hadn't known he was the prince. She'd only known that he was under Hans' and Ayla's control.

And it hurt that he never explained it to her fully.

"No comment? Well, that's fine. It won't interfere with the fact that your family has invaded the kingdom; now, I am going to have to get rid of them. You understand, I am sure."

Mia tried to scream once again as her whole body suddenly bursted with a red light, like a candle in the darkness, until the glow disappeared immediately as a sort of membrane began to form around her body, seemingly unbreakable and, oddly, intoxicating; she felt her worries and fears leave her as her mind began to dull a little, her lips parting as her eyes closed, her heart continuing to beat even as a thin, threadlike aura of ice-blue began to flow from her mouth.

All the while, Ayla watched with a smile, her eyes glinting as she looked down at the ships of Britain and Corona. It would do no good to burn them, for she'd kill herself before she could destroy them all and to target one or two would only spark extra ferocity from the fighters.

In short, a complete waste of time and energy.

"A-Ayla-?" Seth's voice was tiny and timid as he looked up to the large, Mia-sized orb which now hovered in the sky, a large area surrounding it appearing to ripple as if something invisible was to be found there. "Will she..."

"She'll be fine, Seth." Ayla snapped, somewhat out of breath as she made a swirling motion with her hands, the rippling matter beginning to solidify. But it wouldn't be finished for a good while yet; it would take a lot of magic energy before it was distinguishable. "I need her alive and strong and well for what I have planned for her."

Seth looked up to his poor, trapped friend and then looked out to the ships in the distance, a tear trickling down his cheek as his camouflage overcame him. Hurt that Ayla didn't even mention his disappearance, he then began to walk back to town before faltering, looking out to the ships once again.

And then he teleported down to the beach, then onto each individual ship deck after memorising an image of the section where he'd be appearing.

He couldn't let Ayla and Hans hurt anyone else. They had to be stopped, but he could not do that alone.

He could only hope the royals would forgive him for his heritage and trust his words.

* * *

**Oh, bit of a strange ending there! Ayla's gotten a bit more serious since her... Pre-battle fun last chapter, ****shall we say?**

**Anyway, please review—again I put a lot of work into this chapter, and next one too, so please support me!**

**-Luna**


	54. Chapter 54 - dedicated to Kathy22334

Guest (guest): **Yep, those two are pretty tough! As for Odd... You'll have to wait and see!**

alskdjfhgh789: **That comment... You kinda sounded mad. xD Glad it's good ****though!**

Kathy22334 (guest): **Oh, I'm sorry you are / were sick! I hope you got over it quickly! (Or if you haven't yet, get better soon!) And I'm glad the chapter was good!**

KLime (guest): **Ah, you jumped the gun there. Ayla's not going to tell the world that she bred such a weak thing as Seth. She still hates him (in that motherly way) and won't shame herself. But she'll tell Mia, cause she thinks she's done for. As for Mia, she's not quite in the sky, just floating xD but you mention that if Ayla's hurt, sh****e may not be able to be saved... That, at least, is definitely true.**

_spartandestroyr_**: Yep, Seth is wholly against his family now! As for Mia... Well, you'll see!**

_disneylover115:_ **I'm glad you liked it! But I can't promise anything at this point... (well, I could, but I'm not going to!)**

* * *

The sun was lazy as it rose into the sky the next morning, the feeble rays incapable of penetrating the thick, murky cover of cloud coating the sky. A little drizzle had fallen upon the kingdom overnight, leaving the wooden ships jeopardously slippery. The poor soldiers who stood outside, watching for an attack as the rest of their comrades slept, could only be pitied; indeed, it would be a feat if they survived pneumonia.

Inside the warmth—or, perhaps, lack of cold was a better term, for it was far from comfortable—of their cabin, an exhausted warrior prince and princess roused themselves from their fitful slumbers, the tiny light enough to pull them from their haphazard grip on dreamland. Neither was wholly excited for the day; all that could be seen in the future, from this point at least, was fighting and war. Even thinking ahead to a meal that evening was difficult; heart-stopping images of the bloodied battlefields and fallen comrades constantly plagued their minds anytime one dared to hope. It was a pitiful situation.

"How long?" Anna's words were quiet—uncharacteristically so—as she stared into the mirror of her cabin, her hands fiddling with her strawberry blonde hair and pulling it up into a bun, wrapping it up with a ribbon of her favourite shade of green. She dipped her hand in the small bowl of water then, running them over her head slowly so that the frizziness died down a little. Yawning once, she then tightened the bow on the back of her dress before turning to stare at her husband, her eyes cold and glinting in the dim light of the four o'clock sun.

"'Till what?" Kristoff asked as he pulled up the armour which had been dumped down on the floor the night before after a long, hard day of fighting. Not only was it physically taxing, but the emotional strain was great; all in all, it had left both parties completely shattered by the end of the day.

Helping to get all the heavy metal back on Anna once more, he paused and then drew back, staring out to the mainland. She followed his gaze and sighed.

"Until this mess is all over" she said, grumbling a little under the weight of her armour. Misty, who had slept alongside Sven and Seier in her owner's cabin—both Anna and Kristoff had been adamant that their steeds and pet should be near—looked up to her and snorted quietly; poor old Sven snapped at her at that moment, nipping her ear and she gave a small whinny as she yanked away, eyeing up Seier who was now growling before snorting again and laying her head back down. Her armour, left on overnight—she'd been too tired the night before to wait for it to be removed, simply collapsing down and sleeping soundly, not even standing as she usually did—clinked as she did so. Anna gave a weak smile and walked to her side, softly stroking her silky nose, the summer coat fine and pleasant to the touch. "Sorry, girl. I shouldn't complain; you've got it bad as well, huh?"

Misty looked up to Anna once before closing her eyes again, snorting once more. The princess then stood, the tiniest of smiles gracing her bloodied face. Countless little gashes scarred the skin of her forehead and cheeks and one particularly vicious laceration could be found down the entire length of the left of her face and neck. It had bled profusely when a soldier's sword had sliced the skin clean in two; now it had stopped, but only a little strain made beads of blood surface.

"Well?" Anna urged, waiting on her husband's response. He, of course, was no wiser than she.

"Who knows?" he said, shrugging as he heaved on his own armour, wincing as he placed it down across his body. He didn't try to hide the pain; Anna had seen the bloodied bruise that morning. But there was nothing to be done—he could still move, after all. In war, that was the equivalent of never being better, because quite honestly, it was true. To even be alive was a blessing; to be wounded and in pain meant you were still around. That was the main aim, after all.

* * *

As Rapunzel rode out onto the battlefield that morning, early enough to encounter only a few alert soldiers which allowed her and her troops easier access, she could tell immediately that something was wrong. The war still raged, despite the ungodly hours, and the British Navy rained down canon balls on the Kingdom of Arendelle unrelentingly, smashing the houses within their reach to smithereens. Meanwhile the sound of metal on metal could be heard everywhere, footmen charging forwards with bumbling actions, their capabilities limited by the few hours of sleep they recieved. Swords swiped through the air as always, and Rapunzel's was no exception, having had much use the previous day and leaving her less uneasy about attacking the people—everyone, really, was innocent here. The fighters were not evil, rather they simply did as they were told; similarly, Rapunzel could only cut them down in the hopes that doing so would spare most of their comrades, their wives and children, the horror of a kingdom run by a man with next to no sense of empathy at all.

She winced as a blade struck her armour and she slashed her own sword backwards, colliding with a young Danish soldier and sending him reeling backwards, the blow agonising but, if he kept his wits about him, not necessarily fatal. Indeed, Eva could surely help heal some of the injured soldiers after the fighting—assuming they were not idiotic enough to keep going after such an injury.

It was strange, she noted as she galloped her horse over to the edge of the battlefield, up a grassy hill in the hopes of drawing some of the soldiers away from her own troops and family. Her guards raced by her side, one holding a shotgun and the other a deadly bow.

Halting her horse at the peak of the hill, Rapunzel sighed as she took a moment to catch her breath, watching the chaos unfurling benwath her. Jets of magical ice, bright blue in the dim light, seemed to stretch across the entire battlefield, now a barren landscape painted in blood and textured with the corpses of the fallen soldiers. Swords slashed and defences were kept high as a group of her British allies, surely at least one hundred men, stormed towards an oncoming mob of Arendellians, their shields arranged in a type of border around the entirity of their numbers. They marched onwards, blades sticking out from in between their protections; the Norwegian fighters didn't stand a chance as they crumpled to their knees, or, in some cases simply fell to the ground as their lower legs were hacked off with crude sweeps. A few of the British fell, too, at the hands of the Danish and Arendellian archers; it could be argued, however, that the benefits outweighed the cost in this circumstance.

Scanning the horizon again, Rapunzel bit her lip a little as she noticed her poor husband fighting, backed up by his guards and countless footmen. He looked ever so strong and mighty as he fought, but he was struggling too; with every passing moment footmen gained on all sides, his massive advantage of horseback fighting weakened by the sheer number of attacking Arendellians and men from the Southern Isles.

Rapunzel tore her gaze away from her husband, unable to bear watching him any longer while knowing there was nothing she could possibly do, and she immediately noticed the way her guards sat stiffly atop their mounts, their swords drawn. She, too, drew her own weapon out of its sheath again, holding it high as a thin layer of sweat beaded on the skin of her forehead.

But she only had to bring the blade down once before everything stopped—quite literally, every person and animal frozen in place. Almost straight away a loud, feminine voice rung out on the wind, breathless and strained but strangely powerful all the same.

"I will say this only once," the voice said quickly, making a deep breath in-between. At the same moment Rapunzel shivered a little as she felt herself break from the magic instantaneously. "I do not wish to see my people, or those of Arendelle, die at the hands of these monsters. Therefore, I call for you all to retreat now; I shall handle the battle myself."

The magic fell and, at least at first, every man—and the odd woman here and there—was dazed; it didn't take long before the attacking force regained their senses, however, the cannonball bombardment beginning once again and the swords started slashing anew. The defending forces were no fools, though; they retreated all but instantly, backing off as had been their order.

And Anna, whose sword had fallen from her grasp a minute before, let out a sigh as her makeshift icy weapon thawed, then she gave a short guffaw. Watching her attackers running away, she leaned down and gripped the hilt, swinging it upwards as she galloped Misty after them, laughing almost maniacally, "Come back, you spineless Danish cowards! I haven't finished kicking your sorry arses yet!"

"Anna!" Elsagalloped forwards on her mount, grabbing onto her sister's reigns and swinging Misty around so that she could only stop. "What are you playing at? People are goin to think you're some kind of... Monster, or something! We need them on our side!"

"But I was going for the Danish, Elsa!" Anna moaned, but her eyes glinted dangerously in a way the queen had rarely seen before. "They took my daughter and your husband, you know!"

Elsa's breath hitched at the reminder of Odd and she looked away quietly; it was barely a second before she regained a shaky control over her expression. "We attacked their Kingdom before, Anna. We got revenge for that and-" Elsa's words were cut off as she suddenly stopped, spinning her horse around with the clinking of her such heavy armour. She then backed High Flyer up to her sister's side, having him stand there as a shiver ran down her spine.

A short hiss, soft but yet incredibly loud, sounded from the direction of the surrounding hills. And, just as Elsa's eyes locked on the brunette Queen of Corona stood with her guards at the top of the hill, she also noted the slowly flickering object which rose up from the other side.

And then Anna began to run towards it.

* * *

Rapunzel screamed as she felt her horse rear up, her legs clamping around his sides as she clung onto his flowing mane, hastily holding the reins tighter as he tried to run from the scene. She jerked his head in the opposite direction constantly, fighting him as he tried to run, all the while keeping a close eye on the beast which now rose up before her.

It looked, for all intents and purposes, like some great basilisk, though it's features were that of a black mamba to be precise; it had no legs and no obvious nose or ears, rather simple slits. A massive forked tongue, easily double any human's height, flickered out of its mouth. However, it did not slither as any other snake; despite its great mass, for its girth was easily greater than two hundred inches and its length no less than one hundred and fifty metres, it rose upwards with massive wingbeats, leathery black appendages flapping slowly and powerfully. Its mouth opened wide to reveal an interior as black as night and it bared its vicious fangs before it gave an almighty hiss, the great teeth sharper and longer than any spear.

"Don't move yet," a guard whispered to his queen, his grip on his shotgun tightening. He raised it very slightly as his finger shifted to the trigger, holding it there as he assessed the beast's actions. "If we run, it'll only catch us up. That thing can fly, but even if it couldn't it'd still move quickly across ground as smooth as this."

"So, then, what can we do?" Rapunzel asked, trying to steady her horse as she continued to fight him, a similar trouble her companions seemed to be experiencing. The snake, watching with large, incredibly human-like eyes—the only key difference was the slit-like pupils—flicked its tongue thrice, flapping its wings before folding them at its side, slithering forwards slowly. As it crested the hill, it became apparent that it wasn't alone; quietly, like a tiny parasite, a woman sat just behind its wings, holding on to its scales, her blonde hair flying in the wind. Her eyes, a mix of iron grey and ice blue, glinted as she leaned backwards a little, laughing quite gleefully. She then focused on the men and woman, looking to her side and mumbling something before focusing on them once again.

"I... I don't know, your Majesty," the guard said as he stared, gawking, at the sight before him. It was bad enough that this beast existed, let alone that it was backed up by the sorceress Ayla that he'd heard so much about. Rapunzel, too, was shocked for a moment; she took a deep breath and sat up taller on her horse's back, raising her sword as she saw her husband, followed by her cousins, their royal ally and the army of Britain and Corona coming up to help.

"In that case," she whispered back as she pushed her horse into a gallop towards the beast, despite his complaints, "we have no choice but to fight!" She gave a hearty cry as she charged, the snake recoiling at first before it rose up and opened its mouth to reveal its talons. Ayla sat on its back, merely laughing and enjoying the show. Even as Rapunzel's sword slashed at the softer scales on its underbelly, and her horse's spear struck as well, the sorceress only laughed. At that moment, the snake's head began to plunge downwards as well.

"It's no use!" Ayla cried as she clung on, her laugh growing slightly louder. Nevertheless, upon closer inspection she looked fairly weak and tired. "Your swords and blades have no effect; this girl's too big for your weapons to do little more than give her a paper cut!"

Rapunzel screamed as the she saw the fangs approaching, the poisonous tips only narrowly missing her shoulder as her horse jerked away, slightly held back by its rider. His rear hoof struck the beast's mouth as it collided with the ground with a resounding boom, the impact making the earth shudder slightly; the snake gave a loud hiss of pain as it drew back, its head swaying slightly on its over large neck. It steadied quickly, though, its focus coming to rest once again on the people now surrounding it.

"What is that thing?" Elsa screeched as she tried to keep High Flyer in place, the horse screaming in terror as the snake paused, its tongue flickering in the air before it screeched again. It beat its leathery wings and rose up off of the ground slightly before it propelled itself forwards towards the people, its mouth wide open. The men and women scattered, crying out as it attacked, its human-like eyes glinting as it made a strange, guttural sound which seemed oddly like a child's scream; it crashed once more into the floor, leaving an indent as it drew back. It's mouth was suddenly coated in blood; it swallowed once and flickered its tongue as a crimson pair of legs, severed from a body, fell to the ground with a dull thud.

A few screams resounded around the hill as the warriors ran backwards; Queen Victoria, however, kept a steely exterior as she drew her own sword. Her soldiers surrounded her instantly—though many were, perhaps, unwilling—and with their own weapons raised high, as one great mass they surged forwards.

The snake's tongue flicked as it watched slowly before it began to lean down, its blood-stained fangs seeming to glint in the dim light, the remainder of its teeth no less intimidating. It made the strange screechimg noise once more as it lunged, it's mouth clamping down around one man's torso as his comrades attacked with their blades and guns. The weapons had little effect, slicing off a few scales or making only a small indent in the beast's flesh. A thin trickle of blue blood leaked from the wound, but instead of being a hindrance, it only seemed to make the beast put-out.

Blood rained down on the attackers as the snake drew back, it's mouth coated entirely in the crimson liquid. It hissed a little and then beat its wings, flying upwards as blades slashed at its tail which trailed behind before it paused in midair, giving a deadly shriek and then opening its mouth, looking down at the hill.

And as its eyes landed on Anna, whose sword was raised high as she and her sister led their men to strike, it's eyes widened and it jerked its head away, just as a massive beam of brightest blue burst forth from it's throat.

* * *

Kristoff snarled as he gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, hanging onto Sven's thick fur as he leapt around his lone target, Hans. Both princes' soldiers had long since dealt with each other; only the two men were now left, with no one remaining to protect them.

The blade slashed through the air as Kristoff attacked, his own shoulder burning as his blood flowed from a gaping wound; his armour had finally given up the ghost not long beforehand and had dented enough in that spot so that one heavy blow from the smaller prince had been enough to leave a deep laceration which very nearly showed bone.

"You've meddled... with my family... enough!" Kristoff hissed, the pain making his speech disjointed, and he nearly slipped from his mount's back as Sven gave a particularly jolty leap. His sword caught Hans' side and sent him flying from his own stallion with a yell, landing on the dusty ground with a thud; Sven bleated loudly as he watched the horse gallop away and then he stopped his rampage, skidding to a halt and then stomping over to the man who now lay on the floor, still.

Kristoff frowned as Hans made no movements and dismounted slowly, tumbling a little as his arm gave way and landing on his side with a cry of pain. Unable to get to his feet, the agony too great, he pushed himself up onto his palms and crawled forwards, his sword clenched as tightly as was possible in his elevated hand. He shuffled the few metres up to Hans' side and poked him lightly with his sword, his armour just as as weak as Kristoff's. The man didn't so much as stir.

And then he leapt, the sword in his hand held high; Kristoff yelled in surprise and tried to scramble backwards, but knew it was too late to escape. His brown eyes widened as he fell, his chest exposed with his near-useless armour, and he struggled to find the strength to raise his own blade to defend himself. He closed his eyes and turned his head away, praying that Sven would avenge him while Hans was distracted...

And he did just that, but perhaps not in the way Kristoff would have liked. With a deep bellow, a pure, animalistic cry which could only call for war, Sven leapt forwards at Hans, covering the metres in a second, his head flying through the air wildly as he landed right atop the man's blade. He screamed in pain and his ears suddenly stopped working as he missed his companion's scream of anguish, but he could still see; he knew that Hans was still underneath him, and still very much a danger to his human.

Something that sounded distinctively like his name rung out, but Sven couldn't quite tell if it was or not. All he knew was pain, especially as that awful man yanked the blade out of his stomach; the torture was great, and he wobbled on his feet as he felt something smooth caressing his leg, perhaps Kristoff's hand.

But his job wasn't done yet. That was all he knew, apart from the pain; he had a brother to save.

Giving a tremendous bleat, Sven spun around unsteadily and tripped, landing on his knee but leaping back up immediately, grunting and moaning as he snorted at Hans. And, with one almighty leap, he buried his antlers into the man's chest, falling as he did so. But he valiantly kept on kneeling, his world going white.

And, with a final look in Kristoff's direction as he felt Hans go limp under his antlers, the bone having pierced his heart thanks to the shattered armour, his legs finally keeled under him. The pain vanished as his head sunk ever so slowly to the ground, his ears ceasing to twitch and his eyelids closing. And then, a second later, his shallow breathing stopped, his chest rising and falling no more, and his only movements were that of his coat blowing in the wind.

For a moment, everything was silent, but then the sounds of battle from the hill returned. And, a second later, they were amplified as Kristoff's agonised scream joined them; he grunted and groaned as he crawled over to his old friend and then collapsed on top of his frail body, digging his fingers into the fur and howling. But no wet tongue licked up his tears; no hard, cold antlers pushed him to his feet; no grunting reindeer voice chided him for crying when his family needed him.

But Kristoff couldn't move. His body, weak from blood loss and grief, failed him.

He glanced upwards slowly and watched, as if in slow motion, as a great explosion at the top of the hill close sounded, ever so loud. Through the dust and dirt which swirled around afterwards, he could even make out some great beast, some dragon-like creature, rampaging around.

And yet, he was still unable to help them.

Burying his head into Sven's fur, he shook and quivered as the tears finally began to roll down his cheeks, and with a stiff, stubborn neck, he looked up at the sky, gripping the soft hair even tighter.

"S-Sven, b-buddy..." he whispered, looking up to the sky and then closing his eyes gently. "If y-you can h-hear me, b-buddy, please, p-protect th-them all."

And then, with one final glance up to the hill top where the dragon-like beast still cold be found, Kristoff finally passed out into his reindeer's fur.

* * *

Elsa heard screams all around her, but she was unsure how anyone could even summon the strength to make a noise with the fear that must course through their bodies, as it did her own.

The great beam hurled just past the true queen and her men, chilling them all to the bone, and it smashed into the ground with such force that a massive boom could be heard all around the kingdom. Arendellian and Danish soldiers hidden inside the castle, under Ayla's orders, clamoured together in the courtyard and looked fearfully up to the hill—and, on that very peak, a cloud of dust and dirt and blood, greater than any volcano's explosion, rose into the air. And the people were simply left to wonder, was Ayla such a heroine if she could make a beast as vicious as this?

* * *

Ayla laughed as she looked around at the scene before her and she tightened her grip on the beast's scales, it having recoiled to recover. She patted its side as she surveyed the delightful destruction and then lounged back a little, caressing the leathery wings around her legs.

"At last my plans are... well, going to plan!" She paused as she felt the snake lurch beneath her, making her whoop with glee. "It is time, Phantasie. From this day forth, I shall go down in history, and my men with me; I shall be the saviour of all the world!" Ayla rubbed the back of her neck a little and gave the snake a sharp boot with her heels as she finished, with a small giggle, "Perhaps that is a little ambitious. But, either way, now is the time; do your thing, Princess Mia! Give up your powers to my monster and let me achieve my ambitions at last!"

And the snake uncoiled itself as it stretched up, its eyes focusing on the remaining soldiers capable of fighting; though three quarters of the original fighters remained alive, barely a fifth of the survivors remained capable of fighting.

It was a sorry state for the fighters; for Ayla, however, a bright new future had just begun. Even her venom-induced madness, originating from the small scratch she'd gotten from the beast, couldn't prevent her from knowing that.

* * *

Rapunzel groaned as her eyes opened slowly, the first thing she felt being pain beyond anything she'd ever felt before. Her lower half felt like it had been completely sawn off; indeed, when she looked down at her chest, she couldn't help but let out a whimper. Her entire body was encased in ice from her breasts downwards, and vicious spears were digging into her from every possible direction, piercing her skin and staining the solid crimson. She gasped as she felt the daggers piercing her ankle and whimpered as the pressure continued to increase, stars dancing in front of her eyes as she screamed.

"Blon-die..." A strained man's voice came from her left and, with a moan as tears began to roll down her cheeks, Rapunzel turned her head slowly, her eyes settling on her husband who was stuck just as badly as she, a few metres off. His face was scrunched up in discomfort, too, but no where near as badly as his wife's; incapable of escaping, he reached out to her with a shaking hand and gripped her wrist in his own, letting her squeeze his as she gave a scream, a blood-curdling shriek that sent chills down the spine of every person still alive.

But the number of people to hear it had easily been cut down by quarter. So many men lay strewn about, impaled by spears of ice; buried under an avalanche of snow; sliced in half or diced into chunks; or, quite simply, frozen to death.

"Eu-Eugene!" Rapunzel whimpered as tears streamed down her face, her brown hair soaked through from tears. "Eu-Eugene! It hurts so badly! How b-b-bad is it?"

Eugene spared a glance downwards and his breath caught in his throat at the sight; cringing inwardly, he struggled to get closer to his wife, tightening his grip on her hand as she began to feel woozy.

"You'll... You'll live, Blondie." Eugene cringed inwardly at his words and winced as he felt the icy spears beginning to dig in at his own sides; still, he held tight. This pain was nothing compared of the agony of an amputation, after all.

He had to be strong for his wife.

* * *

"Gather around me!" Elsa's commands, shaky but, at the very least, loud, rung out across the entire hill top. The remaining soldiers were quick to heed her directives, assembling in a tight ring around the two royals—with Victoria, Rapunzel and Eugene all trapped—immediately, glad for the safety in numbers. Their hearts all beat as one, so rapidly that it seemed incredible that they hadn't yet burst; no one knew how to deal with this sort of threat.

Elsa tried to be the strong, regal queen that Victoria pulled off so well. "We cannot fight this monster! It is too big, too strong for us to take down!"

"But, your Majesty!" A British soldier, evidentally distressed, came forwards from the crowd just as the snake stretched out its jaws to the maximum, beginning its attack; Elsa's eyes widened as she gave an involuntary scream, her hair flying around her face as a circle of wind swirled around her feet, blasting outwards to form a dome of ice around the survivors. The snake crashed into it and recoiled, yelping, one of its massive teeth snapped clean off, it's blood gushing in waterfalls. But, instead of weakening, the beast only grew stronger and angrier, opening its leathery wings and flying upwards.

"D-do not panic!" Elsa cried, her voice shaking from fear; she watched with bated breath as the snake, with Ayla still sat atop its back, climbed ever higher, before beginning to slow in its ascent, ready to plummet downwards and smash the ice—and then she got an idea. An incredibly risky, potentially useless gamble; but, as with any gamble, there was a chance for success. "Hold your ground, men! Draw your swords, and we shall take this beast down one way or another!"

Elsa scrunched up her face momentarily before her sister placed a hand on her arm; the queen smiled and took Anna's hand, letting a fraction of her power transfer across. "I need your help, little sis," she whispered, giving her sibling one massive, bone crushing hug—because for all she knew, they may never have had the chance to give another one again. "We need to blood up this dome when the snake gets close, knock it away. You think you can do that?"

Anna paused, her eyes shining a little before she brushed away the tears once and nodded. Gripping her sister's hand, she scrunched up her face in perfect synchrony with the queen and felt the magic power coursing through her veins, felt the air inside the dome become heavy and tar-like as the apprehension built up, and felt herself let out an almighty scream as, in one clean sweep, both she and Elsa released the built up magic inside of them, shattering the ice and creating a gust so powerful that the snake, vulnerable in midair as it was, was knocked off course, hurtling in the opposite direction at great speed.

But it would be back. And soon.

"Everyone, you must get back to the castle." Elsa's words were slightly more confident now as she proceeded to begin to thaw away some of the ice created by the beast, though it was taxing to say the least. "Or at least the village, where it is slightly safer. My sister will escort you—"

"No!" Anna's words were loud and bold a she stepped up to her sister's side, her lips tightly drawn. "No, I'll stay here and fight with you! And if we can't fight, then we'll die together, as sisters! I will _not_ let you die for me!"

Elsa was silent for a minute before a tear leaked from her eye. Bending down a little, she pulled her sister into a hug and pecked her tenderly on the forehead. "I can't change your mind, can I, Sister?"

Anna tried to be chirpy as she grinned weakly. "Course not!" Elsa could only blubber a little at that, so grateful that she had such a loving sister, and yet, at the same time, so annoyed that she was so stubborn.

A slight grumbling came from the crowd at that moment as the soldiers, weary and grouchy, stepped aside to reveal two men; one, a young man with a freshly bandaged wrist and the other, an older man whom Elsa and Anna recognised immediately.

"We will fight too." The one-handed Man said, his fist clenched. "You saved my life yesterday; I suppose I have to try to save yours now."

"But, I-"

"And I saw how kind and deserving your family is, and how wicked that Ayla can be; I will not rest of I know I can do anything to end her. Even if, perhaps, I may be tried for treason later on."

Elsa opened her mouth to complain, but at that moment a hubbub of noise sprung up as soldiers all around began to draw their swords and bows once more, all standing at the women's sides. And, just as the snake began to zoom back, one last volunteer stepped forawards. Or, perhaps 'appeared' would be a better word. Elsa and Anna could only stand there and gawk as the little boy who had been Mia's friend stepped forwards. In his hands, he carried a small box; an odd weapon to have, for sure.

"I... I am Prince Seth," he stammered, looking down at the ground as he spoke. "I... I help too."

Elsa was shocked for a moment but quickly recovered, using her powers to push Seth out of the way—but he only reappeared with a pop right before her. "You can't fight, Sweetie!" she called, praying that he be less stubborn than her own son could be. "Stay safe! Get out of the way, okay?"

"No! No, I... I have fight. Because Ayla is mean, and... And she not love anyone! She only loves her! And she is mean! And she not love me, and _she should love me_! But she does not, and now she stealed my friend, so now _I am to fight_!" Tears streamed down the young prince's face as the pebbles at his feet rose in the air very slightly, howevering there as his anger prevailed, but falling when he felt a gentle, motherly hand on his shoulder. With his breathing returning to normal, though the tears still flowing, he blubbered in his fractured Norwegian, "Ayla stealed Mia. Mia is in the snake. And Ayla is using magic to... Uh, work the snake! And it not fair, beause Mia never do'd anything to her!"

The pebbles began to vibrate a little again, but Seth tried to remain calm as he stepped forwards as the snake approached, much to everybody's horror. And then, a second later, he was gone, reappearing with a pop on the very nose of the snake.

"Mia! Miiiiiiiiaaaa!" The young child knocked on the great snake's head, just between its eyes, and waved enthusiastically. The agonised cry of, "Seth! Get down at once!" was completely ignored, though it did, at least somewhat, strike a chord; the young prince never knew his mother could even make such a noise.

Avoiding the snake's tongue as he popped away, back to the ground, Seth then reappeared on the beast's head and laughed, trying to look excited. "Hey, Mia! Mia, come play! I know you in there, you are hiding!" Seth giggled and clapped his hands together, skipping a little on the snake's nose, something which made the great beast still. "We are playing the hide seek game? I sees you, you are in there!" He pointed a chubby finger towards the snake's eye and laughed, before his little expresiion brightened and he scrunched up his face, his body turning the colour of the night sky as he appeared in front of the snake's nose, quite literally hovering. He yelped as he fell down a little, but continued to laugh, his green-blue eyes ever so exciteable as he raised the box to the snake's slit-like nostrils, opening it to reveal a nearly full box—with one empty space—of Turkish Delight.

And then the boy fell, suddenly feeling the effects of his magic. Elsa screamed and began to step forwards, but it was no native woman who reached him first; rather, it was a sorceress with hair of purest blonde, with eyes of silver blue and with a figure only suited for an angel. But it was no angelic creature who caught the boy; Ayla was, for all extents and purposes, nothing short of a demon.

Seth's laughter ceased when he saw who had caught him and his eyes narrowed, his chubby fist colliding with his mother's face before he yelped and popped away, right into the arms of Queen Elsa, who froze for a minute before calming, cradling the exhausted child to her chest. Ayla froze momentarily, too, but then she snarled, her own eyes narrowing as she fell to her knees, her fatigue evident once again, and she screamed as she teleported back onto the snake's back.

"N-Now! Kill them all, there is no time to spare!" Ayla's shrieks were horrifying, only her initial hesitation betraying her well-buried love. And the snake heeded her commands almost immediately, boring down with an outstretched jaw on the people below.

And then it stopped, its single fang brushing Anna's cheek.

The snake froze for a good minute, not blinking, barely breathing, and then, ever so slowly, it began to recoil, ignoring Ayla's protests as it scrunched up; then, with an almighty screech, the creature's head shot up into the sky and a massive torrent of blue magic flowed from its mouth. The snake writhed as it do so, it's wings slowly disintegrating, it's scales falling off one at a time as snow began to fall in the middle of summer. And then, with a massive hiss, the creature thrashed about wildly, dislodging its rider from its back and sending itself plummeting over the edge of the hill with a thoroughly human scream.

For minutes, no one dared to move, all too stunned to do a thing; and then, through the increasingly brightening light of the early morning sun, a large black horse stepped forwards, a small, naked child draped across its back.

Mia gave a small whimper as she was placed down at her mother's feet—a little roughly though it should be noted—by the thoroughbred, and she gave a weak smile as she looked up to him. Her entire body was a burned, bleeding mess, but she was, at least, alive.

"Thank you, Storm Chaser..." She whispered as her aunt created quickly a delicate icy gown for her to wear, and then her eyes closed as she fell into a slumber, her breathing laboured and shallow but still present.

Everything was, it seemed, finally looking up; that was, until every last man and woman and child standing fell to their knees, pushed down by some invisible force.

* * *

Ayla pushed herself up the last few metres of the hill, relying on sheer strength to pull herself up, her magic entirely spent as she fought to keep the people down. They were pests, that was for sure; but pests could be crushed ever so easily.

Puffing, the sorceress grunted as she heaved herself over the edge and then lay still, just for a moment, as she fingered the blade in the belt of her armour; wrapping her hand around the hilt, she wobbled to her feet, walking forwards as if drunk, her steps uncoordinated, her eyes wild.

She had never looked so mad, so incredibly out of control.

It all happened so quickly; she stood at the first man's side, whispered something to him quietly and then slit his throat with no more remorse than a cat would have for its prey. She stalked around slowly, bumbling and stumbling and generally wasting both time and energy, but she was too far gone to think of that now, the magic in her blood suddenly intoxicating for her. For what purpose, it was unclear for most, but it was undeniably true.

It took at least thirty seconds for Ayla to choose her second victim, and her third and fourth and fifth, and with each kill she made, she collected a new weapon; by the time she reached Anna, she had at least six—but the force holding the people down was slowly weakening, too, as she dawdled.

"Hello, little princess," Ayla whispered as she traced her dagger across Anna's armour, from one collar bone to the next, an action which incredibly sliced both the metal and the skin with no extreme effort needed. It was no surprise, really; she was a sorceress, after all. But a mad one at that, and insane women did not always make the most rational of decisions. "Won't it be nice when I watch you die? Oh, how I—and my consort, of course—have dreamed of this day; to finally see you cease to exist!" Ayla laughed as she traced the blade across her own hand, but she stopped before she cut her palm.

She did not so much as flinch. Rather she held the wound above the princess' face and let the blood fall down in her eyes, taking sadistic pleasure in Anna's inability to resist.

"Drip, drip, drip. You feel that blood, Anna?" Ayla paused and then took the princess' hand, smearing her own blood across the less damaged skin. "That's your daughter's blood, Anna. The little one, Dawn dearest. She's dead, isn't she, Anna? You couldn't protect her, Anna. And now her blood is on your hands."

Ayla laughed as she watched the princess try to puzzle it out, her teeth bared in an animalistic grin. "Dawn's blood is on my hands, little princess. I killed your third little baby; the one you failed to save." Ayla's eyes glinted as she picked up the dagger and sliced the armour off of Anna's arm, carelessly carving away at the flesh as the woman slowly but surely began to writhe. Writing that one beautiful word which held so much pain; Dawn.

"You couldn't even save her, Anna. And now your sister, and your daughters and your son and your nephew and everyone else that you care about it this world—they will die at your hand too! Because you were just the spare, the worthless second born sister, who can't even do so much as look after her own family!" Ayla raised the dagger higher and snarled. "What sort of mother won't even save her baby from the wicked witch?"

The dagger crept lower, but it only got half way as Anna's eyes, glinting in the red sunlight of the morning, shone with pure rage. Screaming, she forced herself to sit up, her restraints snapping like the thread of a bow. And then she held her hand up to Ayla's neck, tears streaming down her face from the pain, and she hissed, "You made a big mistake, Lady." And then, with a scream louder than anyone would have ever thought possible, she stood fugly upright, suddenly unaffected by the magic.

"I may not have been able to save my daughter," she hissed, tightening hipper grip on Ayla's throat as she grappled around for a weapon, trying to ignore the burning in her side as the enchanted blade began to hack at her armour and, in turn, her skin. "But I can save what I have left of my family, and I can avenge my baby's death!" Hissing, Anna screamed as the blade dug in particularly deep and she brought her knee up to Ayla's groin quickly, with enough force to send her reeling. The Arendellian princess then reached down and grabbed the sword from the nearest soldier, her eyes narrowed.

That one weak point... Where could it be...

And, in a shocking wave of clarity, it all made sense. Even Karleif's mother had shared a fair degree of love for her son; Ayla, however, barely seemed interested at all.

Anna snarled as she called upon the last remnants of ice in her veins to knock the woman to the ground, then she rose the sword high in the air and impaled it directly through Ayla's hand. Trying to ignore the screams, she leaned down and grabbed at Ayla's light armour, pulling it off with one great heave and sending it flying, then proceeding to rip open the fabric of her dress so that her generously proportioned chest was exposed. And, lo and behold, there it was; the tiny white scar just above her heart.

Anna grinned wickedly, even as she felt the stinging pain of Ayla's last ditch attempts at using magic to remove her. She would not take mercy and kill straight out. Oh, no—she would make the suffering much, much greater.

Raising the blade, Anna then brought it down slowly, her own legs keeping Ayla's bleeding hands pinned. The sorceress bucked and snarled, truly wild, but it did nothing to put off the princess; she was set on revenge, and she would get it now.

"This is for Mia!" she cried as she placed the blade down on the dot and pressed down a little, drawing a bead of blood. "This is for all the other people you've hurt or killed!" She pressed a little more, suddenly aware of her own blood running down her chest. But, for now, the adrenaline counteracted the pain. "And this—this is for my baby! For Dawn!" With but a moment's hesitation Anna pushed the sword away from her, creating a perfect incision right across Ayla's chest. And, as she had detailed in her diary, the sorceress could only remain conscious for a minute or so; after writhing non stop, looking like some creature possessed, she fell into a coma a few minutes later.

The rain began to fall as Ayla's eyes closed. And, as Anna fell to her knees and screamed, suddenly aware of both her physical and emotional pain, her daughter and sister and the strange little lad clamoured around her, with Eugene carrying a moaning, monoped Rapunzel—whose amputated foot had since frozen over and had stopped bleeding—over to her a second later.

They say that even in the darkest of times, one can find light if they only know where to look. Such was the case for the royals of Arendelle; as the heavens opened and God's tears fell for the fallen men and women, a bright rainbow, with colours so vibrant that it hardly seemed natural, grew in the sky, looking out on the whole Kingdom as the warring finally began to cease.

* * *

**... Eight thousand words! I... I only thought this would be about three thousand...**

**I hope it's okay, this was finished at two am on an iPhone, for heavens sake! But I did my best, and fingers crossed my staying up late was worth it! And I proofread it, kinda, which is more than I usually do!  
**

**(Goat just had to kid right when I need to write most, huh? On that note, though, two new baby goats this evening!)**

**-Luna (zzz...)**


	55. 55 - dedicated to Cassie-the-Librarian

spartzndestroyr: **Sorry, Sven was old and he had to have a heroic final moment... I'm sorry!**

disneylover115: **Glad you liked it! Firstly, the snake was actually a double reference—Harry Potter and Fairy Tail. If you've seen the latter, you'll get what I mean, but if not you won't. Anyway, I'm glad it was worth it.**

Cassie-the-librarian: **I'm so glad you liked it!**

KLime (guest): **Yep, I'm a potterhead so the reference was essential. Hehee. But I'm so pleased you thought it was good enough, I was worried.**

_Kathy22334 (guest):_ **I'm glad you're better, and Merry Christmas to you too! (And hehe, yep, Ayla chose wrong... doh!)**

_thorinii:_ **Ah, I love the 'how it could have ended' films! They're fun! But yeah, it's finally over now. As for Ayla, though, we'll be seeing her again in a... slightly different way. And Hans? Nah, I've never been a fan of having him redeemed. Especially in this universe, he's killed so many people he doesn't deserve it.**

WildVirus (guest): **Glad you liked it!**

* * *

The doctor's eyes were narrowed as he wrapped the bandage around Elsa's wrist, keeping a suspicious distance from her all the while. He worked stiffly and made very little eye contact with her, immediately drawing back once he had tended to her most major wounds.

"I must... I must go now." he said as he packed up his briefcase quickly, all but running over to the door of the ex-queen's room. "I must tend to my other patients—but, if anything should arise, please call for me. And I... I would most like to check on your new daughter's health, as well, after all of this torment and stress. Such things can be problematic for a child; you understand, I am sure."

Elsa bowed her head as a tear trickled from the corner, though she managed to at least still her shaking hands. Only the finest dust of snow fell; the doctor, watching the woman skeptically, frowned at the sight and began to wonder whether or not her claims were true or not. He had attended her family's funeral, had seen their coffins be lowered into the ground; he had watched as a tearful Eva, barely out of the toddler stage of her life, took up the throne of Arendelle with shaking hands; he had personally consoled poor Sir Thomas Svindel as he admitted his fears and worries at having a child monarch, and his deep grief at the loss of, arguably, the most generous and genuine queen Arendelle had ever had the luck to have—one who would surely not have left her people for so long under a so-called dangerous man's control.

The evidence suggesting that the family were imposters, fakes, seemed almost overwhelming. But then, at the same time, part of him desperately wanted to believe it. The woman before him knew details of Queen Elsa's past unshared with the public; how her first pregnancy had ended so prematurely, and she had shared her 'memory', if it was really her, of the birth with him—he had been there, after all; how she had taken Dagvin, under the guise of Odd, to see him after he had been attacked by an 'eagle', and how he had remarked that the lacerations seemed much more deliberate and clean than a bird attack.

But there was nothing _he_ could do about it, anyway.

Picking up his briefcase, the doctor nodded once before retreating from the room with nothing more than a simple, "Good day, Ma'am."

And Elsa, whose hands were trembling slightly, collapsed down onto her bed as she finally let herself go, crying out for all those who'd been hurt: for her husband; and for her baby girl and her little boy; and for her sister and her niece and all of their family; and for her kingdom, those poor people who'd fought so bravely and lost so much; and for herself, and for her own stupidity at not having guards those months before when they were first captured.

She'd killed her people. She'd caused her son's amputation. She'd arranged things such that her family had been captured and tortured; that both she and her little sister, poor thing, had been so badly defiled.

And by her father-in-law's men, no less.

She should have killed him when she had the chance; back when Ida and Heidi—arguably another child hurt by her incompetence, killed as a result of her blindness to Dagvin's identity—had been rescued; or when, just before her marriage to Bjørn, he and Lars had tried to kill her, and she'd frozen them in ice.

She was too weak, that was the problem—she'd let them go after.

But there was no point in thinking on that now. What was done was done; this mess they were now in was inescapable, and reprimands had to be made for eveything. The kingdom, though far from destroyed, would need to be built back up; the people would need strength even more so.

Elsa pushed herself up off of the bed as she heard her grandfather clock striking midday. With dread she looked out of her window as she recalled that, now that the battle had been won, she had duties to adhere to; with Eva having handed back possession of the crown to her that very same day—whether the people believed her to be the true queen or not was besides the point, for the reigning child had bravely ignored her advisor's instructions and had surrendered, or, in her terms, "given up"—she had much to deal with.

For one, there was the issue of what to do with her enemies, namely Sir Thomas, Princess Ayla, and all of Arne's men. On top of that, she had yet to see the children again—the trolls were heading back at that very moment—and still had to ensure that their dwellings were fit and ready, as well having to arrange accommodation for the surely numerous now-orphaned youngsters; if Arendelle was to recover from this, hungry little ones running around the streets would hardly be good thing, let alone beneficial. And, as if there was not already enough to do, the kingdom was now littered with bodies and she had promised both her enemies and allies alike time to retrieve their dead, knowing firsthand the pain of burying an empty coffin.

Elsa sighed and began to make her way over to the door, her hand faltering above the handle before she opened it tentatively, bravely. She had to face the people—but, at the same time, she couldn't do it alone.

* * *

Anna was quiet as she sat in her bedroom, little Mia—still asleep— held in her arms, her breathing slow, her skin even paler than it should have been possible. Her hair and eyelashes were icy at the tips, her fingernails frosted over and her lips blue; her magic had been powering the great snake-thing of Ayla's, and it had really taken it out of her. It was no wonder, really; the destruction and power used had been incredible.

A soft, timid knock, sort of like the ones Anna used to place upon Elsa's door, sounded and the princess responded quietly, calling in an equally timid voice, "Come in." At first, nothing happened—had, perhaps, the person not heard her? Or otherwise, maybe it was some attempt at a joke; sick, given the circumstances. But then, a few moments later, the mahogany creaked open and Elsa stood in the doorway, barely looking any healthier than Mia.

"Anna, I..." Elsa trailed off as her eyes landed upon her niece and she sighed, entering the room and walking over, brushing a little blonde hair from the child's face. "H-How is she?"

Anna didn't respond immediately. Her brain didn't seem to be registering anything at the moment—other than pain, of course. It was an overwhelming agong, an endless raging sea which almost drowned her all over again every time she managed to get her head above the surface. There was no letting up; it was horrid, unlike anything she'd known before, equally soul-destroying as poor little Dawn's death had been.

No, scratch that. It wasn't just a death; it had been a murder.

"She's alive." Anna said, her tone dull and lacking in any emotion. She had no more tears left to cry. "How about Ayla? Has she come around yet?"

"What? No, no. She's still in a coma—but when she does awaken, Anna, you can't torture her. You might want to, and I .. I do want to as well, as bad as it sounds, but we need to reinstall faith in our people. You know that, don't you?"

Anna bowed her head, but the tiniest of smiles graces her lips. "Of course I do. I'm having my revenge. Hans is dead, but that's not enough for her. I'm gonna humiliate her; just you wait."

Had Anna's words been aimed at anyone else, Elsa would have been shocked, perhaps even horrified that her sweet sister, though not so innocent anymore, would say such a thing. She was quite forgiving, normally. However, the target being Ayla, she could not care less; in fact, she was rather interested to see what would happen.

"No pain, Anna. We have to be merciful; we can't tarnish our reputation any more. I can't rule a terrified kingdom, Sister."

"I know." Anna looked away, pulling her daughter closer as the child began to cough and splutter. "Why are you here, Elsa? You didn't come just to tell me to play nice."

Elsa faltered at the bitterness in her sister's voice, though in truth such aggravation was warranted really. "Oh. Yes. Well... Well, I said I'd explain things to the people. I owe them that much at least. But, I..." The words pinched off as the queen's hands shook again, though she kept control—for now. Thinking about her poor son was, for now, her only source of comfort; Cecilie brought about hatred with the love, and thinking of Odd added a dash of terror to the mix; Anna was shut off—justifiably so—and Mia completely out of it, and Kristoff, not so close to her but a friend nonetheless, had holed himself up in the stables, pining for his lost childhood friend.

The reindeer hadn't even had Odd's slither of hope. He was undeniably gone; his absence, so soon after reclaiming him, had left a hole in everyone's hearts.

"I can't face the people on my own, Anna. You know I don't cope well with people judging me, and now that I've attacked them to reclaim the throne by force, and, you know, the fact that I've got a new baby... And a bastard at that..."

Anna's eyes, previously steely and somewhat unseeing, lost some of their severity and her tight grip on Mia slackened. She shifted closer to her sister, sighing as she wrapped her arm around her. "Sorry, Elsa. I shouldn't be so harsh, but I can't help it. Just... Let me be to work through my pain." Elsa recoiled at her sister's words and her eyebrows furrowed, snow beginning to settle on the floor. Anna noticed immediately, trying to rest her hand on Elsa's arm. "No, no! Shush, calm down! Calm down! I will come with you, sure. Just... Please don't expect me to be very comforting. I can hardly keep myself from breaking down, let alone shoulder your pains as well."

And then, in that moment, Elsa's resolve cracked at her sister's confession of distress, her own worries rushing to the surface. "Oh my God," she whispered as she stood up quickly, barely avoiding hitting her head. "Oh my God, the people won't accept me anymore, Anna. I've... I've bred a bastard daughter, an unworthy child! I'm a spoiled woman, and so very... So very... So unfit to be a ruler! How could anyone accept a Queen whose child was sired out of wedlock? Oh, God, it's a travesty. Oh, God, oh God!" Elsa moaned as she buried her head in her hands, collapsing to the floor as she statted to feel herself going lightheaded. "I'm nothing better than a common prostitute. Not even the villagers would take such a woman as Queen, and the nobles... Oh! Oh, Anna—what am I to do?"

Though hardly in a comforting mood, Anna pushed her daughter aside and bent down to her sister's level, wrapping her arms around her. No words could ease her pain: every word she said was true.

"Elsa, there's nothing you can do. People are going to be disgusted by you, and you've got to accept that. For a bit, at least—unless you're willing to tell them exactly what happened, of course."

Elsa's stiffened at her sister's sharpened words. They weren't as comforting as she'd hoped, at any rate. Not at all, in fact. Caught up in annoyance at not recieving any soothing words, it was a moment until Elsa realised Anna was shaking profoundly; she'd almost forgotten that she, too, had barely come out unscathed.

The identical brand on her lower back, now fully healed, was proof enough of that.

"Things'll get better, Elsa. But Cecilie... Like it or not, people are going to hate her. Maybe they'll grow to accept her, but deep down they will always think of her as an atrocity.

"But, at the same time, that doesn't matter. Because in the end, she'll have us; we'll all be there to look after her, and her father—her real dad, not... Whatever bloke did this to you, to is, even—has already risked his life for her." Feeling Elsa's body shudder at the reminder if Odd, Anna broke down too and began to sob. "I... I don't know if he'll make it, Elsa. You've got to accept he might not make it. If you get your hopes up, it'll only break your heart even more."

"Anna, please-"

"Elsa. Listen to me. You've not got a choice; you have to accept the facts. Odd... He... H-He's a dead man. He loves you, and he's ever so strong, but he's chronically hurt too." Grasping her sister's hand, Anna squeezed it tightly and brought it up to her chest. "But his son, and _his_ daughter, are still here. And they need you to be strong—and so do your people. They need your strength, and seeing your suffering, harsh as it sounds, may help them overcome their own.

"What are y-you saying?" Elsa stuttered, wiping away a tear with an icy handkerchief. Noticing a few droplets trickling down her sister's cheek, she mopped them up too.

"I'm s-saying... Well, we've got to live, Elsa. And life is tough, and cruel and unrelenting. And, from now on, it's only going to get way worse. But at the s-same time, think what we've survived through; a few sideways glances should be easy to deal with." Bringing her sister into a hug, her own tears flowing freely now, she blubbered, "Now, we should go. You've got a daughter to retrieve; she is surely strarving by now, and I don't imagine she likes troll milk much."

Elsa tried to laugh, she really did, but no happiness could surface; a second later, though, she suddenly recognised her great need to cradle her daughter once again—and, at any rate, her breasts were absolutely burning.

"Okay. I... I suppose we should go now."

Anna gave a weak smile that only ended up looking like a grimace. "O-Okay. Let me just call Ida to watch Mia, and then... Then I'll come with you."

* * *

"And so, my people, I... I must beg for your forgiveness, and plead f-for your trust. I... I have been through enough pain, and so has my f-family. And I u-understand that many of you have suffered greatly, too, a-and for that I am sorry. But there was n-nothing else to be done."

A murmur rang out through the crowd and Elsa felt her palms become unusually hot and sweaty; she frowned as she felt herself be pulled backwards, her sister stepping forwards. She had changed; no longer was she the naïve young princess, but a battle-hardened young woman, ravaged by loss.

"My sister is... She's not well. She's suffered a lot over these past months, so I beg you, please... Just let her get better. She's still the Queen Elsa that I know you all—or, I suppose, almost all of you—love. And, with your help, she will heal. And I, and your entire royal family. And all of you, too; we'll all get better, but only if we quit with the prejudice and cooperate.

"I know it's hard to take us back now. We're the same people, but at the same time... We're different. We're scarred, maybe damaged. But I can promise, we will restore the kingdom to its former glory. Because we are your royal family, scarred and tarnished as we are. We live to serve you, and we have fought to protect you from the control of evil.

"I'm not good at this kind of thing, so I'm going to shut up. But I'll just say this; please, help us out. That's all we ask, and we'll do our all for you as well—just as we always have done in the past. And... Now I'm going to quit while I'm ahead and haven't done something stupid, so... Yeah. I get that you're all desperate to shout at us or... Well, some of you'll probably want to fight too. But please, don't. I don't know what else to say, so... Uh, thanks for coming, I guess, and I... I really need to go now before I burst into tears." Anna gave a small laugh and then stepped backwards, pausing very slightly before all but running back inside, leaving the to-be queen alone; Elsa immediately felt her tiny sliver of confidence slip away and she dismissed her audience with even less composure than her younger, eccentric sister.

"Thank you, people of A-Arendelle. I... If you n-need accommodation or help, please, c-come and ask. I... I shall be i-in the main h-hall this evening to m-make arrangements."

She then spun around and walked out briskly, burying her head in her hands as soon as she was out of the public eye. Once upon a time—literally, for it felt like a lifetime ago—she had been quite comfortable addressing her people; now, with her reputation in tatters, her (previously shaky) self confidence destroyed, and at least half of her kingdom believing her and her family to be some evil pretenders to the throne, she couldn't find the strength to be the woman she'd been before.

Caught up in her distress, Elsa didn't register the soft pitter-patter of a young child's feet; it wasn't until she felt a soft tugging on the hem of her dress and the soft clanking of armour as the guards on either side of the hall quietly shuffled that she even noticed another's presence in the room.

Looking down at her feet, Elsa took a short breath as she realised who had been attracting her attention. Inadvertently stepping backwards, she then eyed the small boy with the smoothed back blonde hair, rather pale skin and eyes coloured green-blue suspiciously, trying to suss out his intentions.

"Seth," she whispered coldly, nodding to him once. He froze for a moment, stiffening up before lowering his head and hunching his shoulders.

"I… I am sorry," he said in a trembling voice, his Danish accent showing through the words, his hands raising to wipe those captivating eyes hidden by his fringe. "I did not tell you about Ayla, I did not want to make you angry. I knowed you would not like me, but I like you. And Mia, she is very… kind. She knows me… No, under… understands me."

Elsa's fists clenched as she thought about how Mia and the young lad here had played together so fondly, and yet here he stood, pleading forgiveness for actually being on the opposite side all along. Probably spying, even.

But then, was it really his fault? He was just a boy, after all; he didn't know any better, and from the way he trembled before her now, was probably terrified. Ayla hardly seemed like the motherly type, nor did Hans give the impression of being much of a father figure. His few years of life had surely been tough.

"I knowed not that Ayla was my mama… Not for a long time. But then I knowed, because she has magic, and I have magic, and I look like her too. But they sayed that I was… Ah, I do not know not the word. They telled me I am… Not their, uh, son. I am… A diff'rent woman's son. But I _am_ their son. And they hate me."

Elsa took another slow step backwards, but forced herself to stop when she saw little Seth's tear stained face. She reeled only for a second, before tentatively reaching forwards and brushing a small blonde lock from his wet face. It was incredible how much it felt like Freddie's—but then, what difference was there really? Sure, he was birthed and sired by complete barbarians, but he was still a sweet, innocent child like her own son was. And, pining for him as she was, she bent down and opened her arms, smiling warmly.

"It's not your fault what happened, Seth. In fact, you were the one who saved the day." Elsa smiled as she watched the child taking a nervous step towards her, and she pulled him closer herself. She could feel her guards' eyes watching her, but it didn't faze her; this young boy needed her more than she needed space right now. "So, I think I owe you really. What's wrong? Why aren't you with your people—your soldiers should be watching over you."

Seth struggled a little against the woman's grasp, but settled fairly quickly, shocked into placidness by Elsa's unfamiliar care for him. "I… I am scared, Queen. I am on my own now. My Mama, Papa, they are gone. They are mean, but I still on my own."

"Oh, dear boy. Have you no other relatives here?" Elsa pushed him away a little as she caressed his cheek. "But at any rate, I am certain your grandmother and grandfather would care for you, when you return home? My own mother and father always spoke of them—or the queen, at least—fondly."

"My… My aunt and uncle, they are here. But I know not where they are. I have seen them not for… Well, not this day. Maybe… Yesterday, before the snake?"

Elsa's heart melted as she stood up, holding Seth against her hip in her right arm, the left injured from the arrow wound she'd sustained and incapable of supporting any weight. He bucked and shuffled in her grip, but she held him tight, close to her body. Seth needed the attention—and, as an irrelevant but appreciated bonus, it was a way to show people that she was still the loving Queen she had once been, and was not an imposter.

"Well, then, I suppose we shall have to try to find them," she said, slowly descending the circling flight of stairs with the sudden realisation that, by helping him out, she'd have to go out into the public to search. She could, of course, send guards to do the job for her, but she didn't feel right doing that; distressing or not, she had to be seen as a confident ruler, even if the people surely knew already that she was not that any longer.

Walking silently through the corridors of the castle, the only sound was that of Seth's occasional uncomfortable mumble and the tapping of Elsa's heels on the newly re-polished floor. She only ran into one person on the way—Eva, in fact, who seemed ever so excited to be returning to her home kingdom soon, and had already abandoned the queenly attire for a slightly more casual dress—but the lack of life was, to be honest, quite pleasant. There was no one to judge her; no one to scowl or glare in her direction.

Stepping out into the courtyard, both Elsa and Seth, each dreading the search though for different reasons, felt their hearts stop momentarily as a fairly large mass of beings made their way forwards. It would seem that almost the entire community of trolls had travelled back to the kingdom, with the children riding happily atop the backs of extraordinarily calm deer. They looked completely overjoyed to be home, and little Cecilie, carried by Bulda, gave a surely-joyful screech as she was handed up to her mother in exchange for Seth, immediately nuzzling the breast area of her dress, hungry. She had dropped off weight, for sure, but the troll milk she'd been fed had kept her alive, at least.

Seth stood by Elsa's side stiffly, awkwardly keeping close to her, but not so near that he was touching her. A second later, though, his eyes lit up and he gave a jubilant cry of delight, running through the onslaught and leaping at a fairly tall woman in whose arms a large child was nestled, asleep, and her husband. The latter bore a remarkable resemblance to Hans, but he wore that handsome face with gentleness, not malice.

"Prince Arvid?" she questioned in her shaky danish, recognising him immediately. "I... I trust you will look after Seth on his journey home?"

Arvid bowed his head, nodding once. "Of course. I can't just leave you with my brother's mess, now, can I?" He faltered in his speech and rubbed the back of his neck, before ruffling Seth's hair. "Sorry, Seth. I didn't mean it like that."

Elsa gave a thin smile, which only widened when her own son came running up , his gait still slightly unbalanced as he ran with only one arm. Still she laughed as she embraced him with her injured arm, though incapable of picking him up, and smothered his face in gentle kisses so that he quickly drew back, miming disgust, moaning, "Mama!" She only laughed before she took notice of the child in the woman's—Kaisu's—arms again and frowned a little.

"Oh, gosh. I must work on my foreign relations, for I had no idea you were even expecting, Princess." She spoke slowly, looking away a little. "Of course, I suppose good relations are going to be impossible now?"

"Not at all, your Majesty. We only came to war under Hans' assurance that you were an evil force—but such is quite clearly not the case. He and his consort... They're nasty pieces of work." Arvid spoke with a smile and looked down at the baby himself. "Also, to fill you in, this is my new prince. We've not come up with a name for him, yet—he was not supposed to be born for another few months, at least. But my wife insisted on coming on this battle, and then betrayed me by leaving our cabin on the ship and trying to stand up to Ayla. Brave, no doubt, but it was not her place to do so and she ended up getting herself cursed, foolish woman."

Kaisu gave a sheepish smile and looked at her new son with a blush, only his face visible.

"But either way, we went to the trolls—I heard of them from Hans, in fact—and they helped us. So... now here we are."

Elsa gave a weak smile. "I'm sorry to hear that. I... I had the same issue with both of my children, and I must say, I sympathise with you, Princess." She nodded her head once, then noticed her son's groaning. His stomach grumbled a little as well, and all three laughed, each person desperate for happiness. "I... I suppose I shall have to get going. It was nice to meet you, and I do hope it shall not be the last time."

"Certainly not, Queen Elsa." Arvid said with a small bow as he hoisted Seth onto his own hip, grinning at him. "I'm sure the little prince here'll want to see his friend again?"

Seth nodded eagerly and then turned to Elsa, a hopeful look on his face; she laughed and nodded, turning away just as Pabbie rolled over, and her heart suddenly froze. "Oh, yes, of course. I... Excuse me." She felt her breath catch in her throat and then turned away, waiting for the wise troll a little way off. Her knuckles were white, her teeth clenched as she awaited news.

"Firstly, I'll just say that we shall bring your niece's reindeer back another day. She is in no condition to travel right now. But, onto more pressing matters... I cannot say anything for your husband, Queen Elsa." HIs expression was dull and glum, his tone equally lifeless. "He is neither better nor worse; he is a fighter, for sure, but I cannot say if even he has the strength to overcome this."

Elsa felt her world crash down around her. She had reclaimed her kingdom, and her sister, her children and her nieces and nephews and brother in law; they were all alive. But, of course, there had to be a cost. And as Elsa looked out over the hills, watching the sun absently, she realised with shocking clarity that everything had, honestly, gone too well. There had only been one great casualty; Sven.

"Mama? What's wrong?" Freddie's words were quiet as he picked up on his mother's distress. She only smiled down at him and tried to look strong.

"Nothing. Nothing, sweetie. Papa's just a bit poorly, and he'll... He'll fight for us. He'll come back to save us."

But as she walked her son down to the kitchen, her words having soothed him, one thought played on her mind; he had fought for them, for her and Cecilie and everyone else. And he had saved them already too.

Was it possible for anyone, even such a survivor as he, to do it twice?

* * *

**Oh, we're getting so close to the end now... I've imagined this day but couldn't quite see it coming!**

**Anyway, happy 3 year anniversary (plus one week) for Frozen Powers! It started off shaky, but thanks for sticking with me through the pain of the first fic!**

**This really is your last chance to make a request. Actually, no, it's not, because I may very well do a few short one-shots to accompany the fic later on if you give me ideas (because believe me, it's going to be hard for me to just forget about this fic now! Planning it while bored in class—especially in history, lots of inspiration there—has really become a habit now!)**

**Well, merry Christmas! It was a struggle to get this out on time, what with Christmas and the fact that my poor old MacBook has finally given up the ghost, pretty much (keyboard is half broken and now the trackpad doesn't respond) but I couldn't resist giving you guys a Christmas prezzie! Now, fingers crossed I can get a plug in mouse for my poor old trooper to accompany the additional plug in keyboard and hopefully it'll survive to write a few more chapters xD Cause writing on the phone / iPad is a nightmare!**

**-Luna**


	56. Chapter 56 - dedicated to Blackknght

Blackknght: **Glad to see you found the time to catch up! And I'm glad you liked the fight chapter. To tackle a few of your questions... One, no, Ayla wasn't actually influencing them, or if she was, it would have only been a little bit. It would have taken a great deal of energy to do** **that—though in the end, making the snake took even more. As for Hans' brother, now that you mention it, it would have been n****ice to see him fighting, but admittedly I forgot about him until last chapter so I couldn't. And I'm so glad you've enjoyed these past few chapters, I've been planning them for quite a while.**

_Cassie-the-Librarian:_ **Glad you liked it!**

_Wayward Fawn:_ **I'm so glad you enjoyed it so much! And a week? Wow, that's fast, given that it's over 300,000 words long! I must say, I absolutely lover Ayla too, I'm surprised you don't like Odd though. Mind you, I suppose he could be a little bland, huh? xD I never properly established much character for him, when I first wrote him into the pic I didn't consider things like personality so I couldn't really fix it later on. It's good to know you've got a little more respect for him now though. As for Seth, yeah, he's sweet! And Ayla's fate... Oh, she's very much alive...**

_disneylover115:_ **You make a good point about Elsa, but it won't be easy for her to get over her new confidence issues. She's been through so much, it'll be hard for her to trust again. Especially if she loses Odd, though I'm not going to give out any spoilers... **

_spartandestroyr: _**Yes, even the strongest people would struggle in the situation. It'll take all of the royals' strength to even sleep through the inevitable nightmares, let alone live properly...**

_WildVirus (guest):_ **Glad you liked it! And yes, their wounds won't be easy to heal at all...**

_KLime (guest):_ **Yep, Kaisu was lucky, and Seth is lucky too to have them to look after him for a bit. And I'm glad I did well with Elsa. To answer your question, Freddie will not be going to England—instead, his to-be-wife would come to Arendelle and be his Queen when he becomes old enough to be King. **

* * *

The morning of Elsa's re-coronation was an oddly quiet affair, especially when contrasted to the chaos and hubbub of her first. Despite the fact that there were now four children in the castle—though admittedly, Mia was always her quiet self—and a young, seemingly opinionated baby the halls remained fairly quiet. Part of the serenity was due to the fact that this time, there was no massive ball to prepare for—no one had really been in the mood for the past week to do so much as have a picnic, let alone a full-blown celebration. Nonetheless, such an event was no easy feat; it was only made harder when none of the key characters could so much as find the motivation to even get dressed.

It was nearing midday by the time Elsa managed to heave her heavy, unresponsive body from bed, groaning as she struggled to stand and walk. Each step was shoddily orchestrated and more likely to have been attempted by little Cecilie; she, of course, was a long way off walking yet, being little over three months old. It was a matter Elsa had pondered about greatly over these past few weeks, though; more accurately, whether or not her husband, the brave man that he was, would be able to watch over her as she learned, as she took her first pathetic, unsteady steps.

He loved her, that much Elsa knew now. He'd thrown himself in front of a blade for the two of them, hell—if that didn't count as love, then surely nothing did. But at the same time, it had been such a thoughtless move; he would be horrified if he knew the pain he had thus showered down upon her.

Glancing up at her grandfather clock and sighing as she saw the reflection of the empty bed in its mirrors, Elsa's face fell as she noticed that it now read two o'clock, an unarguably incorrect time given the bright summer daylight—eye burningly so, even—which seeped in through the gap between the two red curtains of her room—so it could not be morning—and the fact that she was supposed to be at the church—or, rather, an icy frame which was not quite yet rebuilt—by three. But there was nothing to be done for now; the re-coronation, though greatly held back in extravagance, had still been a fairly costly necessity to re-establish herself as monarch and thus had left the already bare bank very nearly drained of all its reserves. Hence there was not even the money to spare to buy a new clock now that her old, much loved one had finally suffered its demise.

A tear rolled down her cheek as she walked over to her curtains, opening them and yelping at the agonising light. Spinning around, she gave a breath of relief as the shadows granted her a little salvation and she backed up to the window, fumbling behind herself to close off the beam. It was too strong; she couldn't deal with so much intensity, especially when she herself was so listless.

Pulling on a cream dressing gown from her wardrobe, draping it around herself slowly, she sidestepped to avoid the frantic moth which fluttered out from the dark confines—it must have gotten trapped a few days before. Then slipping her feet into a soft pair of slippers she began to make her way over to the grand door of her room, freezing the pesky little moth in the process.

_It_ didn't deserve to live, pointless waste of space that it was. It would only serve to lay eggs, which would then hatch into larvae and eat all of her own—and Odd's—clothing! and she couldn't afford to replace two entire wardrobes. Of course, such action could be deemed unnecessary by some; she, on the other hand, couldn't have been more serious.

Steeping out into the hallway, Elsa shivered a little as she began to make her way down to the lounge, hoping to pick up on her reading once again. She'd started a book in Corona and had been uplifted when she found that the translated Norwegian version was in her own library. She'd had little chance to read it, though; she hadn't had the interest in anything for the past few days, in fact.

The door pushed open silently, the hinges thankfully not needing repairing; it was but a small saving, though. Arendelle was a broken Kingdom now, and was ever so weak as well; frugality would be essential for a little while.

Elsa was a little surprised when her eyes landed on a familiar blonde maid and her family—her sister, brother (for after what he'd been through, what else could he be called), son and nieces and nephew—all sat quietly around the fire. There was no need, really, for it was ever so warm outside; the bitterness of the inhabitants of the room, however, had surely chilled the air inside.

"Oh, Elsa." Anna's voice was nowhere near as excited as it had been years before—in fact, she was so quiet and unenthusiastic that she seemed like a change person. In truth, she probably _was_ different; after all they'd seen, it was impossible to come out of it unfazed. "I... Good morning. You, ah, aren't getting ready yet?"

Kristof nodded a little, though he looked thoroughly downtrend; it was no wonder. Sven's death had hit him hard. "You probably should start getting ready." His words were mumbled and slow, lacking the strength behind them to really make his point worthwhile, and his eyes were kept focused on his lap where a small wooden figurine was found. He held a small paintbrush in his hand, though he was far from delicate in his actions as he tried his best to paint the tiny sculpture; the colouring from memory was no trouble at all, simply the delicacy required to do was too difficult for him.

Elsa shook her head as she sat down, folding her leg and lounging back stiffly, her eyes sliding shut as her lower lip trembled a little. "What point is there? I've got hours yet; there's no hurry. I only have to slip on a dress."

Anna frowned as she pushed little Kari from her lap, who immediately grumbled and snarled as she sat cross-legged on the floor. Even she, though still more bitter than everyone else, was less than excited for the day's events. "Ma...ma!... That's... M-M-M-Mean!" Huffing a little, though less loudly than usual, she then spun around and brought her legs up to her chest, rocking back and forth very slowly, almost unnoticeably. As a mother, though, Anna couldn't help but notice; to act upon her realisation, however, would only have made Kari mad, so there was no point.

"You've got to do your makeup and hair as well Elsa," Anna pointed out in her deadpan voice. "And you'll have to leave earlier than the rest of us, too. You know the guards are taking you via the long route."

"Yes, Anna. I do realise that. But there's no need to rush—and I'm hardly in the mood for celebration. I... I'd rather just have stayed in bed." Sighing, she then turned her head to the maid and scowled. "You know, you should always show respect to your superiors, Ayla."

The woman turned around and scowled, her beautiful blue eyes glinting in the fire light. They glowed brightest red in the flames, but she made no advances as she gave a stiff curtsey, her fists clenched, her jaw clamped.

"How are you enjoying your new life, Ayla?" Elsa continued, taking no real pleasure in the taunting but feeling at least slightly fulfilled. That woman deserved no remorse; in fact, she would encourage everyone quite openly to belittle her as much as possible. Indeed, from her thinned face and more boney arms, the disgust at her from her new peers had done a lot of good for her self esteem; she surely had little left by now. Or, less at least—she seemed to think quite a lot of herself.

When Ayla made no comment and only sneered, Elsa's own eyes narrowed and she almost felt the need to growl at the woman before her. "You know, Ayla, a maid must respond to her masters and mistresses. Now..." Elsa's eyes thinned even more as she gave an almost wicked grin, though she felt no true happiness still, only vengeance. "How is life without your oh-so-precious magic? You must feel ever so weak."

"Why wouldn't you just kill me!" Ayla hissed, her cheeks burning. "What good is my existence now!"

"Revenge, you wicked—" Elsa broke off quickly, remembering the children in the room and reminded herself not to swear. Ayla, however, only gave a small grin of her own.

"Witch? You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?"

Elsa winced at the remark and thought back to the deceptively beautiful scar on her shoulder; gritting her teeth, she snarled and opened her palm, allowing a ball of ice to materialise there. It had the desired effect, of course; Ayla's face drained of colour and then turned the brightest shade of red as she watched, opening her own palm instinctively but to with no effect.

"You are a nobody now. Even your own son deserted you." Elsa hissed as she spoke, then throwing the ball of ice in the blonde's direction so that it scraped her cheek and hit the wall behind with such force that even the chandelier shook a little. Heaving, the Queen then withdrew her hands, folding them in her lap as she whispered, suddenly introverted again, "Now go. The people still need help to repair their homes—so get on with it. And while you're at it, be sure to talk to the villagers. I'm sure some of them would adore a good punch or two."

Ayla seethed at Elsa's words, though her heart, wounded and scarred as it was, thudded in her chest as she thought of her task. People would watch her with loathing; she'd never been able to stand utter hatred from those she considered her own. And the Arendellians had been her people not long ago; every abhorring glance was a blow. "You know many of them still think of you as evil." she sneered, and Elsa recoiled for a moment, her lips a thin line. Anna was quick to pick up for her.

"What does it matter what they think? Because in the end, little maid, we're royalty. And we can have them executed Just. Like. That." She paused for a moment and snapped her fingers, making Ayla flinch from surprise. "So even if they don't really like us, that doesn't matter, 'cause we have all the power anyway. But you—you can't even make a spark."

Ayla seethed and then spun on her heel, striding over to the door and freezing there for a second, her now-fragile body highlighted by the bright midday sun. "I'm of noble blood, you know." she hissed, before jerking the door open. "And I'm a princess, too. You can't stop me just by giving me a little cut."

Anna's eyes narrowed and Elsa shifted in her seat a little, fists clenching. "A cut to an artery and you'll be dead. So get on with your work already, Ayla, or I'll have you hung up in the town for all to see. And I won't let you die—I'll let you suffer, but I'll keep you alive. And I'll do it over. And over. And over again."

Ayla stiffened momentarily and clenched her fist, but finally bowed her head and walked briskly from the room, leaving a silence which descended upon the royals at the queen's words. Elsa hunched her shoulders, using a careless beam of ice to reach out for her book and bring it over to her. Blinking away the small tears which threatened to blur out her vision, she then opened the novel to the frozen-over page—she'd broken down the last time she'd attempted to read it—and started to scan it over, her brain barely taking in a single detail. Her mind was much too preoccupied, but at least she could make the impression of being immersed.

For what felt like the longest time, the silence was only interrupted by the turning of the pages of Elsa's book, Kari's quiet grumbles and whimpers, and little Freddie's moans as he lay on the sofa, his head buried into the material as he let his arms lay limply over the edge. Then, not too long later, the door opened to reveal a little of the noise from beyond the confines of the room, and slow soft wing beats added to the pitiful attempt at sound.

"Elsa? Won't you talk to me?" A high pitched voice sounded around the room and, with a delayed response, Elsa looked up slowly and gave a weak, shaky smile. She held out her arm and tried to keep it still as Hodepine, now much larger than he'd even been before—after the fighting, he'd grown from a robin-like creature into more of an overgrown kingfisher—fluttered down at lightning speed and perched on her wrist.

"I'm sorry, boy," she whispered, a finger stroking the feathers on his head. "I've been busy."

"I know, I know..." The bird twittered on quickly, ruffling his feathers. He tilted his head downwards, his beak brushing against the material of her gown. "Are you sad because of that man you liked? Odd? That nice man you liked?"

Elsa took in a breath and snapped her gaze away, trembling; Hodepine was quick to dismount from her shaking arm, knowing full well that he would surely end up flung across the room if he held on. Fluttering around so that he could see her face, his icy wings rapidly beating to keep his plump snowy body in the air, he opened his beak to speak before he yelped, pulled backwards as a warm hand clenched around him.

"Shush, Hodepine." Anna whispered, only slightly amused by the fact that she was telling any creation of her sister's to be quiet. As if such a thing would ever be possible. Elsa, however, quickly glanced up and still managed to achieve a wobbly smile.

"Not liked, boy. Love. I still love him, and I always will." Trying not to let more tears roll down her cheeks, she held out her arm for him again and he zipped over more than willingly. "I love you too, little headache. But I... I just need some time. I'm a bit of a wreck now, so I need you to do me a favour."

"Yeah! Okay, Elsa! Whatever you want, Elsa, Elsa! Anything! Whatever you want!" The bird jumped up and flashed around her head, his little wings beating like crazy until he crashed into the wall opposite, thrown off course as a breeze blew in through the window. Squawking awkwardly from his new position—the end of his beak was now lodged into the wall, so he could only move it a little—he wiggled about, unable to free himself. It wasn't until Seier—who was laying next to Anna's side—looked up wearily, cocked his head a little, clambered to his paws and trudged over to the wall to grip the bird in his mouth that Hodepine could freely flit around once again.

"Could you go and find Olaf for me? I'm worried; I haven't seen him since we returned. I would have thought he would be the first one back."

Hodepine fluttered a little higher and spun around, shooting out of room as he twittered, "Sure! Sure! I can do that! Sure!" Once he'd left, even the wistful inhabitants of the room all cracked a little grin at the bird's enthusiasm. Poor Hodepine couldn't be blamed for the inappropriate behaviour—he knew no better.

He was really only a baby, after all. Even more so than Olaf had been—Hodepine was, quite literally, birdbrained after all.

* * *

Though the clock had struck one o'clock at least five minutes ago, still no one had truly moved from their places. Admittedly, the children had shifted a little—Mia had gotten up and had begun a puzzle, though in that time she'd barely placed ten pieces of one hundred; Freddie had fallen from the sofa and was now laying with his mouth smashed against the carpet; Thomas and Kari had shuffled closer together and we're now attempting to read a picture book between them, though to little avail when their hearts weren't in it and the latter couldn't read it aloud anyway—but, all in all, there had been no other movement.

Finally coming to appreciate that she was not going to get anywhere, Mia stood up slowly, looking down at her hands as she fiddled with her fingers. Though still slightly pudgy, her fingers were beginning to lengthen and slim down; she was growing up, though she was already mature beyond her years. Walking over to the door, she then whispered quietly, "I... I think I might go and check on Lysse. She probably needs some help."

Anna shifted forwards in her seat a little, jolting her husband as he continued with his project; he barely even flinched, not retorting at all as he remained introverted as ever.

"Mia... Shouldn't you get ready?" Anna asked as she stood herself, looking down at her pale yellow nightgown. It was hardly customary to walk around the castle like this, but what point was there in worrying?

"Auntie isn't ready yet." Mia pointed out, folding her little arms. "She has to do more than I do."

"That's not the point, Sweetie. You haven't even decided what dress to wear yet—and besides, you can't go to the church smelling like stables."

"I'll put on some perfume," Mia shot back with a little shrug though she looked away shyly, "and I can make a dress on the way there. My powers are strong enough again, I can do little things."

"Mia-"

Anna was cut off as the door slammed open, something which made Mia yelp as she jumped immediately to the side, only narrowly missing being caught as she fell backwards after a bad landing. Wincing as she landed heavily, she immediately gasped as she watched the door begin to freeze up and she drew her hands back to herself, closing her eyes as she took a few deep breaths. Then squinting, she gave a shaky smile as the freeze slowly retreated, thawing away in sections.

"Hey, everybody!" A loud, cheery voice sounded, followed by a giggle as Hodepine shot into the room, unsurprisingly smashing into Elsa's chest and he fell to her lap, twittering as he hopped up. A moment later, the chuckling grew louder as a familiar snowman toddled into the room, never ceasing his chortles as he entered. In his little twiggy arms, a small bundle, wriggling but not evidently upset, was carried; Elsa gave a short cry immediately and shot up, the kingfisher falling from her lap and crashing to the floor as she ran over to her daughter and 'son', pulling the babe a little roughly from his grip—Cecilie whimpered a little but soon quietened as she felt her mother's gentle touch—and cradling her. Now comforted, Elsa then drew back before reaching out tentatively, touching the snowman's cheek tentatively.

"O-Olaf? You're alive?"

The snowman nodded and laughed, skipping around the room so that his head bounced a little off of his main body with each step. "Sure I am! I was up in the palace with Marshmallow, but I didn't even realise you were home until the other day! So I rolled—and I mean, I actually rolled, because it's really the quickest way of travelling! You should try it some time—back down here. But then my snowball melted when I got down the hill, so I had to roll each bit of my body down one at a time. It took kinda long, and then don't get me started on trying to find them all!"

Though the room was still cold from bitterness, the chirpy snowman's presence did help alleviate some of the chill.

"Wouldn't it have been easier to walk down the hill?" Kristoff spoke slowly, his words dull and incredibly well pronounced, as if he'd put a lot of effort into making himself heard; the poor man had barely said a word the whole morning, even less than everyone else—except, perhaps, Elsa.

Olaf's eyes widened at the suggestion, before he spun to Mia and waved as she left the room, despite Anna's quiet, halfhearted protests. Then turning back to the remaining royals, he chirped, blissfully unaware of everything that had gone on, "Oh, yes, that might have been easier!" Shrugging, he trotted over to Elsa's seat and clambered up, snuggling down happily as he shook his stubby legs a little, giggling all the while. "But it was fun rolling down the hill, as in, _really_ really fun, so never mind!"

Elsa gave a small laugh and sat down, cradling her daughter close as she stroked her head, the small tuft of undeniably black hair incredibly soft. And, as she watched the little snowman garbling away carelessly, she came to a sudden realisation; sure, times had been tough, they had lost so much, and had so much more pain left to struggle through. But, at the same time, they were all still here, still alive and breathing and, more specifically, still together—mostly.

While it was a painful gift, it was a gift all the same that so many of them had survived. And, with a newfound clarity, Elsa could now appreciate just how fair the fates had been to her, her family, and her kingdom.

* * *

**Okay, so I just watched Frozen ****Fever... And then had to watch it non stop for two hours when my little sister couldn't get enough of it. So within a day I went from... well, kinda liking it to hating it xD But I will say, this fic is definitely not gonna be canon with it, although I did like the idea of Hans mucking out the stables!**

**Anyway, still trying to get my laptop fixed, it's not going well. So if there are loads of mistakes in this chapter, it's because of writing on my phone.**

**P.S. Happy New Year! Have a good 2016**

**-Luna**


	57. Chapter 57 - dedicated to KLime (guest)

kathy22334 (guest): **No you did review I think :D My account's just spazzed up and has suddenly stopped showing my reviews. On which note... yours is the only one I can see this chapter so far (monday). Hopefully FFN will fix it for me soon!**

_spartandestroyr:_ **No, I haven't mentioned Odd's fate yet. And don't worry, the worst is over now—and as you say, they've definitely learned their lesson and won't be going anywhere without guards of some sort. I don't think they'd even survive through another... skirmish like this anytime soon.**

_disneylover115:_ **Yeah, it's tough. And yeah, I had to reintroduce Olaf somewhere, I always forgot about him before but honestly he didn't really fit into the darkness anyway. And glad you like Hodepine and Olaf, they're cute together!**

_Wayward Fawn:_ **Yeah, I made a mistake with Odd, but at least his sacrifice was kinda defining.**

_Lime (guest):_ **Yep, our favourite snowman's back after his... Uh, basically series long holiday. And I wasn't really ****aware the chapter was funny but I'm glad it was! **

* * *

The sun was high in the cloudless sky, blazing down on the land below unrelentingly. For one man, now heading back from a long fortnight's labour, it was especially unbearable; trudging home from the freezing cold atmosphere of the North Mountain, accompanied by a few fellow hardy ice-harvesters, Prince Kristof of Arendelle could not have been more desperate to simply find a patch of snow and lay in it.

Huddling up to the sleigh full of ice, of course, was out of the question; doing so would make the load melt, and even if money was not such an issue for the blonde—the job was more of a pastime now—it was much more important for his companions. They had to depend on the quickly-perishing ice for their very survival, and for the health of their families, so losing the harvest would be calamitous.

Patting Storm Chaser's shoulder as he made a low clucking noise, urging the stallion on—being not quite so fine as a normal thoroughbred, the horse was not only powerfully built and muscular but also additionally strong in the hindquarters and chest, making him suitable for pulling an ice sled, though no where near as good as Sven had been in his youth, or even old age—Kristoff moaned quietly and rubbed his hand over his forehead, pulling it back to find it sopping wet. Though not disgusted himself, he knew he'd immediately be shoved into a freezing cold bathtub when he got home—though admittedly, chilly didn't sound so bad at the minute.

His disgruntled moans turned into a shocked grunt as a heavy hand thumped against his back; spinning around momentarily to look, Kristof's face contorted into a puzzled frown and he folded his arms as he ambled away from his companion, an older man by the name of Zeké. Despite his strong and athletic build, he could often be thought of as a wise man, what with his greying hair, tight lips and creased forehead. He certainly fitted the part, and Kristoff knew for a fact that he could, when he felt like it, bestow meaningful and thought-provoking advice. But for the most part he was more of an easygoing fellow, and now that his favourite 'boy' had returned to the ice harvesting squad after months of being presumed dead—he'd always had a soft spot for the young blonde lad and his reindeer, and kept it as they grew up—he was even more of a tease.

"Oh, come on, Princey-boy!" He walked with a small skip in his step and his eyes shone in the heat, though his face had morphed into a tomato by now and his own shirt was slightly damp from sweat too. Annoyingly, he had spent most of the time sat atop his own sleigh, unlike Kristoff who had walked to spare his horse extra trouble—Storm was still a thoroughbred, after all, and though strong was built more for racing. "Cheer up! You've been going on for weeks about how you want to see that fireball of yours!"

Kristoff rolled his eyes and took a step away as Zeké took a step nearer. "Anna's not so bad. She's no more clumsy than that kid of yours!" The younger man raised a hand and pointed over to the sleigh where, snugly nestled in between three big, bulky men, a small boy was sat, twiddling with his thumbs. He could be no older than eight or nine—Kristoff hadn't thought it necessary to ask—but was just as eager as any of the grown men. At the same time, though, the kid was rather prone to accidents; only earlier that day he'd tried to stand in the sleigh as the adults had done, only to fall face-first out of the back. From then on, it had been deemed more sensible to just sit with him instead.

"Kristoff, did you not say that she burnt a house down the other day?"

"That... That's besides the point. It was only a shed. And it was half fallen down anyway! And she had other things on her mind..." Kristoff trailed off, thinking of his brother-in-law, but quickly brushed the thought aside. He'd had so much time to think about things during the past fortnight, he had gotten quite good at controlling his mind. "Yeah, okay, she's a nightmare." He rubbed the back of his neck slowly and gave a sheepish grin. "I can try to defend her all I want, but it's never gonna work, is it?"

"Nope." Zeké spoke in a low but chirpy voice and then laughed, clapping Kristoff on the back as he began to speak. "Don't worry, mate—we'll-"

Whatever the man had had to say was cut off as a loud, high pitched bleat rung out in the forest; the horses pulling the sled immediately began to prance, one even shooting forwards momentarily before settling, and only Storm Chaser remained calm, tossing his head before looking away from the heavier horses and making a nickering sound as if to say, "Idiots". Even he momentarily jumped, however, as a brown ball of fuzz came tumbling through the nearby bushes, squeaking and yelping as it rolled a short distance before coming to a halt at the carthorses' hooves. They, in turn, all jumped backwards quickly, jolting the cargo from the back so that blocks of ice smashed onto the ground all around; the noise only put them on edge more.

The ice harvesters—all but one—immediately began to grumble and shout, at least half of their load now destroyed; only Kristoff remained calm, though, as he ran around to the little brown creature and picked it up, laughing, though a few small tears shone in his eyes as he stroked its head.

"Huh. W-what are you doing here, lamb?" He chuckled tearily and ruffled the little creatures fur, trying to grin. The brown fluff-ball only flattened its ears and made a few short, put out bleats. The noise was then followed by a louder, somewhat alarmed bellow and a heavy-footed reindeer came crashing through the shrubs and hedges a moment later, skidding to a stop in the clearing and tossing her head when she laid eyes on the little creature, trotting forwards and nuzzling it affectionately.

The sudden appearance was too much for the already high-strung steeds; immediately the largest—an especially heavily built mare—reared up, screaming a terrified neigh, and she threw her head about and leapt, all four hooves coming off of the ground. Her actions, of course, sent the last of the ice flying, leaving the sled devoid of contents. A few men snarled at the sight, their faces immediately going red, and one even stormed up to the mare and grabbed the leadrope of her pressure halter, yanking it downwards sharply so that the knots at her cheeks immediately dug in; she gave a deafening whinney and immediately began to toss her head, eyes wide as she licked her lips and began to make a chewing acrion at a rapid speed—a sign of respect.

"Oh! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" A high pitched, feminine voice rung out and a young girl, whose skin was ever so pale and whose hair was so nearly the colour of freshly fallen snow, hopped down from the reindeer cow and hurried over to the sleigh, standing up on her toes to inspect the damage. "Oh, this was my fault, let me fix it..." Closing her eyes, the girl's hands began to glow a faint blue and a fine dusting of snow swirled around the inside of the sled; a moment later, large, perfectly formed blocks of ice materialised before the men's very eyes, a sight which made their faces almost literally light up.

"Mia!" Only Kristoff spoke at first, rushing over to his daughter and pulling her into a massive hug, an action which made her eyes bulge very slightly at the pressure. "What are you doing here, kiddo? Your mama'll kill me if you're alone!"

"Oh, no, I'm not alone." Mia gave a small smile as she skipped back to Lysse, patting her cheek and then bending down to scratch the calf behind the ears. The baby immediately began to wag its little tail, tongue lolling out like a little dog. "I've got Lysse and Svenja. And, you know, there are some guards too—and Ayla. Auntie wanted to embarrass her so she had to be my escort."

"Was that really such a good plan?" Kristof's eyes darted around quickly and his fists clenched a little; Mia only giggled, and spoke with greater volume in her voice, a cheeky smile on her face.

"It's fine, she hasn't got any powers. And I do." She paused, turning her head to look into the bushes, and grinned a little more. She enjoyed this taunting business—at least when it was applied to Ayla, for she deserved every last bit of humiliation after all she'd done. "So if she even tried to hurt me, I'll just control her mind. It's as simple as that." Holding onto her reins with one hand—now that it was summer, Lysse's fur, unlike Sven's had been, really was too fine to hold on to, though she could manage if she had no other choice—she flicked her spare wrist and smiled as a snowflake drifted away on the wind; a moment later, a thud and a loud—feminine—groan of pain sounded, as if someone had just run into a tree. Kristoff couldn't help but chuckle, too.

"I see," he murmured, rubbing the back of his neck. "I still don't feel right with you being out here though… Guards or not, your Mama will be livid. She's scary when she wants to be."

Mia rolled her eyes as she calmed down a little, sitting deeper into her saddle. "Mama knows that I'm out here, don't worry. I'm not Tom or Kari, Papa; I wouldn't just run off on my own."

"Hmm, I suppose not. I just worry about you, that's all—and myself, if I have to face your Mama's wrath."

"Svenja doesn't really like Mama." Mia commented idly and out-of-the-blue, then looking down at her little calf, before glancing up at the beautiful blue sky, her eyes the exact same shade. "I think she's scared of her—Mama's crazy. Even though Svenja is too, but Mama's just… A whole different level of crazy."

Kristoff smiled a little but then paused at his daughter's words and his lips thinned momentarily before he took a slow step towards her, his hand outstretched towards the calf. "That's… That's a nice name for her." He looked down at the baby and his bottom lip quivered a little; Zeké was quick to walk up and clap him on the back, his face somewhat melancholy though his eyes sparkled a little.

"Don't look so glum, Kristoff. You couldn't have done anything for Sven, and he was old anyway. And this here girl... God, she looks a lot like him, don't you think?"

It was true, Kristoff realised as he looked down at the calf who, by now, was happily rubbing up against his legs, nipping gently at his trousers. She was a tiny thing and though she was now over a month old, she was barely the size of a newborn reindeer. At the very least, it explained why no one had even realised Lysse had been pregnant; she'd not had enough nutrients for her growing calf, nor did she have the energy to make milk—though she'd never bagged up, so perhaps that was simply a problem she had.

Despite her minuscule size, Svenja had pulled through, kept alive on goat's milk, though egg yolk also had to be added for her first few days—without her mother's colostrum, a substitute had had to be found for the protein and fats. Nonetheless, it had been a close call; had Mia not immediately fallen head-over-heels for the calf and stayed awake for nights on end with the two reindeer sleeping in her own room, bottle feeding Svenja every few hours and forcing her heart to keep beating every time her tiny body tried to give in, she'd never have pulled through.

But the princess had been dutiful and she'd served her pets well. Svenja had survived and, though she would never be as large as any other reindeer, she was strong and, more importantly, eager to please and play; she was a superb replica of her namesake in both looks and personality, with a mass of thick, unruly cream fur around her neck, stomach and hooves and an over-large head and muzzle, both features her mother lacked, though her figure was finer and much closer to Lysse's.

"I suppose she is," Kristoff murmured, trying not to think too much of Sven and instead focus on the fact that his daughter was with him at last.

As his fellow ice harvesters began to walk onwards to Arendelle, the sleighs now restocked, he picked up the little calf—she was hardly bigger than a large dog—and shifted her in his grip, making her loll out her tongue and bestow a long, wet kiss upon his cheek. He groaned a little and held her head away from him, though he had to smile really. "So, how have things been?"

Mia was quiet for a few seconds before answering, giving a small shrug of her shoulders as she did so. "Quiet, really. Auntie Elsa's quite often shut in her room, though she sometimes leaves to pick some flowers. She likes having all of the vases filled, says it makes a 'healing atmosphere' or something. She doesn't like the servants to do it, either; she likes to do it all herself. I guess it stops her from doing important things all the time. But Mama thinks she's going mad—but the doctor says she'll get over this soon, so I believe him.

"Freddie's getting a bit better too. He keeps asking when his Papa's coming back, and auntie just keeps saying, "Not yet". So he's a bit happier, he thinks that if he's happy he'll get to see Uncle Odd sooner.

"Olaf's fun as well, he doesn't understand—kinda like Freddie—so he's always happy. Auntie Elsa sometimes lets him pick flowers with her, he likes that a lot. Gets really excited about it, actually—he actually threw his head out of the window yesterday when she said he could go with her. Ended up falling down the stairs because he couldn't see—but he wouldn't let auntie carry him, for some reason."

Mia's face broke into a small grin, though she remained characteristically quiet as she stroked Lysse's shoulder, murmuring a few quiet words to her before sighing and leaning forwards, resting her head on her reindeer's neck and closing her eyes. It was no surprise she was tired for she must have been riding for at least two hours now, and Kristoff couldn't help but laugh as little Svenja, still weaving between his legs and almost tripping him up, looked up and gave a big yawn. Presumably she had been carried part of the way, but it was a long distance to travel for a calf so young none-the-less.

Bending down, Kristoff held out a hand and smiled, clucking and whispering, "Come here, girly." Laughing a little more as Svenja immediately ran around him in a circle before skidding to a stop at his hand, crashing into it and falling in a heap on the floor, he wrapped his arms around her and picked her up once again, relishing in the smell of her—she was so much like Sven.

And then he realised something which made his heart miss a beat. It didn't matter so much that his friend, the poor old soldier who'd sacrificed so much for him, was gone; now Kristoff could repay that debt, simply by giving Sven's little daughter, midget as she was, the same quality of life her father had always had as well.

_Thank you so much, Buddy, for everything. _Kristoff thought as he stroked Svenja's soft little head, realising with a smile that two tiny lumps had already began to form—her little baby antlers. _And don't you worry; I'll look after your girls, just like you looked after me and mine._

A small breeze picked up just at that moment, and—though he could not explain it—Kristoff could have sworn he heard a quiet, almost inaudible grunt on the wind.

That alone was enough to begin to settle his grief, and to help him realise that perhaps everything was not lost after all.

* * *

**One thing I'd like to say, before people assume "pressure halters" are evil pieces of work, is that they are not. They are designed so as to help a handler keep control of a horse by putting pressure on the cheekbones (or that kind of area) when the leadrope is shaken gently or otherwise pulled down harshly. We use them on our horses; they know that a gentle wiggle is a warning, and they will respond to it. It's a good way of ensuring that they know who the master is (because I'd rather not be walked on by a couple-hundred kilo animal) without having to cause them any real discomfort. **

**Yeah, just wanted to clear that up XD I'm a big fan of pressure halters when used *correctly* so... Yeah.**


	58. Chapter 58 - disneylover123

_spartandestroyr_: **I'm glad you liked it!**

_WildVirus (guest):_ **Haha, I see Svenja's got a fan, hmm? I like her too xD**

_Kathy22334 (guest):_ **Yep, Svenja's a sweetie! She's got a few fans :D**

_KLime (guest):_ O**h god, I should have had Ayla throw someone's head out of the window... And yes, Mia worked hard for little Svenja—but it was definitely worth it, I love her 3 And this chapter's not a great one, but epilogues never are really. Thank yo use much for all of your dedication though.**

_disneylover115:_ **I'm so glad you liked the chapter, I quite enjoyed writing it too! I'm so glad Svenja is such a massive hit as well.**

* * *

People bustled about excitedly, swarming through the streets like locusts, caught up in the chaos of the day. In fact, for the people of the Southern Isles, there had hardly been a greater festivity since the last celebration of the anniversary of Princess Ayla's dome; more specifically, since the Battle of Malum Sanguis in Arendelle, the point at which the celebrating of the event had ended.

There was no reason to rejoice in it now that people understood the truth behind Ayla and Hans' so called 'reign'.

Nevertheless, the kingdom now rejoiced after all those years of falsities, stood taller than ever before as they joined together as one, all survivors of the glamourised, malevolent scheme. And so today was even more significant than the announcement of the new royal children—of whom there had been a good number by now; it was, long overdue, the closure everyone needed so desperately.

Banners adorned the Kingdom of the Southern Isles, hanging from every lamppost and shop; in their masses they turned the kingdom from the bog standard grey of cobbles and bricks, normally only punctuated by a few flowers in windows or the chocolate-brown shade of painted wood, to an unexpected—but much appreciated—explosion of colour. The streets had, for the most part, all been spruced up especially, the stains of old manure scrubbed away and the weeds growing up in between the cracks all exterminated; such unsightly blemishes could never be allowed to remain. Similarly every building, monument and decoration, no matter how pristine it may or may not have seemed to the untrained eye before, had been thoroughly edulcorated, then repainted and freshened up to be more befitting of a day such as this. It had taken months of firm, iron-handed ruling to get the kingdom to this standard and, once it had been achieved, to maintain it; such had been a fair price to pay, though, for the perfection of this, a historic and incredibly consequential day. One which would, at long last, put an end to the decades of bitterness qualm between the two kingdoms.

Down in the harbour, for only the second time in the past thirty—give or take—years, a large fleet of ships in all their glory, spruced up to an extent which could have very nearly rivalled the perfection of the mainland, were resting, bobbing in the waves without complaint. There was, of course, a small degree of wildness to the weather—the water in the harbour was, at present, choppy enough at least to upturn a yacht or similar, and was presumably rather unpleasant further out to sea—but honestly, it was a day which would have been foolish to scoff at.

By the time the church bell rang, signalling the arrival of the hour of ten that morning, the streets had all emptied in a rush. Despite their flawlessness and impeccable finish, and their previously crowded and hectic atmosphere, now the villages remained all but deserted; a few small birds fluttered around, singing jubilantly as they pecked at the fresh baked loaves left on sills, the odd polecat and beech marten slinking around through larders and taking their own pickings, clearly revelling in the celebrations just as much as their unknowing victims.

Through the frenzy a few carriages, ornate and lavish—many of a breath taking baroque build—travelled calmly, all trotting in the direction of the church. Their manes and tails all flowed on the small breeze which blew across from the sea, their heads held high in the air as they pranced. Each fine horse tossed its head, distressed by the chaos—but the occupants of the carriages were anything but perturbed, all cheering and chattering with their companions. Hair was all made up, gowns exquisitely sewn and suits newly tailored; the whole thing was, in some ways, little more than a display of power for the most influential families, and a chance to lay eyes upon the reclusive elite for the rest of the population.

Hidden away inside the church—for many of the noblemen and women in attendance, such was a well practiced task—the atmosphere, rather than the intolerable madness to be found outside, was much more serene. Nevertheless, even among the gathered guests, few of whom knew the invitees personally, there was an air of glee; a small shiver of anxious excitement ran through the air in the room, hitting those who began to doze a little at the customary delay and revitalising them.

Of course, as with anything in life there was always an exception to the rule; seated alongside her brother and his wife, in whose arms a small child of a few months lay sleeping, Cecilie was quite at ease, not affected by the furor as was every other occupant of the room. Instead, she sat regally in her chair, her left leg folded over the right and a hand resting in her lap softly, the other fiddling with the long locks of black hair which cascaded down around her face. Though far from the thickness of her mother's, the princess still had hair which other women would have surely killed for. It was, perhaps, incredibly sensible that she had an escort and guard at her side always; with her pale skin and bright eyes of purest amber, the exquisite and rare shade which was more commonly only found on felines, she was surely a target for much attention—though it could be stated that she was just a touch off of perfect, with the small bump of her nose and the very slight lack in length of her neck which was only a little longer than average.

"Ayla?" The princess' voice was a whisper as she turned to the woman at her side, still fingering with her hair. "Mirajane asked you a question."

"Wha- oh." The woman scowled, her blues eyes narrowed in her charge's direction, shuffling away a little. "Stop with the games, you little brat."

"That's not nice, you know. Mama will set Olaf and Hodepine on you for that, she told you so."

"Like I care about pain anymore, stupid girl." Ayla hissed, her eyes glinting. She clenched her fists a little and tensed up; letting out a breath a second later she then sighed, relaxing a little. "I've been humiliated quite enough; what I wouldn't give just to go to sleep and never wake up."

"You're not allowed to die. Mama told me about how you tried to kill our people, so now it's your punishment to always be my maid." Cecilie smiled and brushed back a little of her hair, brushing it behind her shoulder and smiling as she looked at the woman. The years had, for certain, not treated the ex-princess well; her beautiful blonde hair was already streaked with grey though she was barely past forty and her face, once flawless, was now creased with wrinkles. Still, she had at least managed to retain her youthful eyes which, though constantly glinting with bitterness, were still an interesting shade of dull blue.

"You know, Ayla, you never answered Mira's question."

Ayla groaned and slouched a little in her chair, her eyes darting around the hall restlessly until they came to land upon the young man now stood at the alter, suit freshly made up; her eyes softened very slightly for a moment, and her frown subsided just enough to make her look like she wasn't constantly depressed. But as the man turned a little and met her gaze, her expression changed to one of slight hurt as he looked away immediately, his teeth gritted and his fists clenched.

"There's no one there, Cecilie. You know you were meant to stop this... Habit of yours." Ayla's words were snarled, though she did look momentarily to her left and her face fell just a tad more.

"Everyone says that," Cecilie whispered, sighing as she looked around the room quickly. Then lowering her head a little to look at her lap, she fiddled absently with the ring on her finger and murmured, in a voice too low for Ayla to hear, "Shush. Stop talking; Mama'll be upset with me if she hears me talking to you all."

Though her voice had been too quiet for the older woman to hear, it hadn't been enough for her brother. She frowned a little and looked up to his face slowly as a hand landed upon her shoulder and gave a small smile when she saw his grin too.

"You still going on about Mirajane, huh, Li?" he teased, using his hand—his only one—to reach into his pocket and pull out a small box. Handing it to her, he watched with baited breath as she pulled up the lid, revealing a small brooch in the shape of a little swan; though she barely reacted to the gift, his heart swelled with pride as she attached it onto the soft material of her dress. "I kept forgetting to give it to you; it cost me an arm, so you'd better like it, little troublemaker."

"You're a tease, Freddie." Cecilie said as she fingered the little brooch. "You've never had your other arm; I'm not a fool. Although..." She paused for a moment and looked directly into his eyes, frowning before giving a small smile. "You seem much more lively today. I think you'll have good luck—maybe you should enter the jousting match later."

"Yeah, I don't think so." The prince grinned at his sister's words and kissed her forehead softly, ever the doting big brother. "Lucky day or not, I don't think my chances would be great. Even if I would love to go jousting—but maybe you and I can watch it together, hmm?"

Cecilie gave a little shrug and smiled. "I don't really mind," she said, brushing out a crease on her dress. "Lisanna might be a bit upset though—oh! Oh, I shouldn't say anything."

Fredrik laughed and ruffled his sister's hair, receiving a small slap on the shoulder by his wife who sat next to him, scowling.

"Don't mess up her hair!" she scolded, folding her arms as she held her little baby closer. Cecilie, however, remained unfazed, simply brushing it back down as if nothing had happened. Upon seeing her unperturbed reaction, the British Princess paused before giving a small sigh, whispering in a slightly more lighthearted tone, her accent thick, "Don't do it again, Fredrik!"

The prince laughed and leaned over, pecking his wife on the cheek gently. "Course not, dear." He laughed as he saw her put-out expression and winked a little, grinning. "Come on, don't be pessimistic! It's a wedding–gotta be a bit happy, right?"

"Happy, certainly. But not a downright imbecile."

"You know I-" Whatever the prince may have wanted to say was drowned out suddenly as the great door at the rear of the church creaked open at last, standing in its place a young woman of great beauty. Though she stood a little stiffly, never having been the most confident, she was still just as breathtaking as ever. Her blonde hair had been braided up into a simple plait which encircled her head, the remainder of her hair falling loosely down her back; reaching down to just below her chest in waves, it was an uncomplicated but still magnificent style, finished off to perfection by the few delicate flowers—snowdrops, fittingly—which had been woven in.

Her dress was also a sight to behold, not the traditional pure white—her skin was much too pale for that combination to work—but instead a subtle yellowed ivory. The gown fitted her figure perfectly, hugging her delicate chest and enhancing the flowing curves of her body; with a low cut neckline and a strapless top it displayed her fine shoulders slender frame, while the lower half of the dress flared out very slightly, the upper layer of the material held loosely to the sides by small pins for a subtle layered effect, making the whole thing piece almost like there were gentle waves sewn through it. Sewn into the chest area a few small, sparkling diamonds could be seen glittering in the bright sunlight which streamed in through the stained glass; the dress was made even brighter by the ice shards which had been added that very morning as an afterthought by Elsa, the diamonds having been rationed originally.

Though Arendelle had recovered since the battle—not without the help of Queen Victoria and Corona—money was still far from as available as it had been before. Repairs and compensation, as well as the necessary rituals to commemorate the fallen and to reinstate the true royals to the throne, had taken their toll; until enough taxes and rent was collected to return the kingdom to its former glory, some cut backs had been necessary.

But the princess' wedding was not one of them; to appear weak would have prompted an attack on the kingdom anyway by opportunistic neighbours, but it was more than that anyway. It was an important day for poor Mia, and one which could not be allowed to go wrong.

In his royal uniform, his medals shining almost as brightly as his daughter's stunning dress, Kristoff was stood just to her left, her right arm held with his left. He gave her a quick grin as the prince at the alter turned slowly to look at her, his face morphing into a massive beam; Mia froze momentarily before she gave a quiet laugh, almost skipping forwards down the alter. Kristoff yelped as he was jerked forwards but then regained his composure, walking briskly alongside his daughter as she pranced amongst the two sides of chairs.

Reaching the head of the aisle, Kristoff gently nudged Seth's shoulder with his fist and grinned, ruffling the prince's hair gently as he laughed, though his eyes glistened slightly. "Take care of her for me, 'kay?"

Seth gave a nervous grin and nodded, accepting Mia from her father who retreated shakily, his happiness twinned with sorrows. "I—You know I will, sir! I'll be a good king for her, I promise." he called, his voice slightly too high pitched—and then he turned away to face the priest as Kristoff backed off, coming to stand between a rather high-strung Svenja—though slightly finer, she was essentially a perfect replica of her father, whose identity was unquestionable—and a quiet, weary Lysse who, though watching with great interest and a wildly wagging tail, was now showing her age; her coat was slightly scragglier than it had ever been before and her eyes, though still shining, lacked some of the wildness they had once contained. But she had still clambered up to her hooves as her 'sister' arrived, and she would continue to fight for her princess until she grew too old to move at all.

Perhaps that would be soon, but she dearly hoped not. And she knew that, until Mia was truly ready to let go, she would not stop fighting for her either.

Just as Sven had done, sixteen years before.

* * *

**Thanks for reading everybody! There will be one more ****really short chapter before the whole pic finishes (wow...) and that will probably be out soon, though definitely by next Friday. **

**See you soon!**

**-Luna**


	59. 59 - For everyone who's ever reviewed!

disneylover115: **Haha, fangirling over a fanfic! Nah, I'm kidding! I'm glad you liked the chapter and the shippings!**

spartandestroyr: **I'm so glad you've enjoyed the series, I've definitely enjoyed writing it—in amidst the stress of trying to get chapters out on time! **

funny named person! **I'm so glad you've enjoyed the series, as for Odd... Well, be sure to read the chapter comments!**

KLime (guest): **Yeah, sorry for the lack of chapter comments. I was so tired I just forgot! And I'm glad you liked Mia's dress, I wasnt sure how to describe it. Also, it's nice to see another Mia and Seth fan, I thought they were cute (hehee, I bet Ayla'd be going mad, both sickened and proud at the same time XD)**

WildVirus (guest): **Haha, glad you liked the chapter! And don't worry, you're not old—if the kids were alive today they would be extremely old. I mean, Mia would be over 170 years old! ... Wow, what a weird thought!**

* * *

"Twenty five years ago..." Anna gave a sheepish smile as she sighed. "It still seems like yesterday for me." Her face fell as she fingered the fine snow beneath her and made a few small snowballs, the powder clumping together fairly well; caught up in her quiet task, she didn't hear the low whistle preceding the great _thwack_ which sounded as a small projectile struck her shoulder.

Yelping, Anna shot up only to see her husband laughing heartily as he fell backwards into the snow, his face alight with humour. "Oh, shush Fiestypants!" he teased, then laying still in the powder. It was still early in the morning; though it was far from cold out, notably so after the bitter year they had had temperature wise—even in summer it rarely crept about fifteen degrees Celsius—the now winter snow still clung to life valiantly. "You know they're all happy, don't complain!"

"But it... It just doesn't seem fair." Anna sighed as she shuffled backwards to her husband's side, laying down and resting her head on his chest. The surroundings were so beautiful, but they only held one point of significance for Anna; it had been Mia's birthplace. "I got to marry you, and Elsa, Odd. How can we just push off our kids into arranged marriages?"

"It's not like that and you know it," Kristoff said, a frown forming on his face. "Mia and Seth wanted to be together, it just made an alliance as well. Freddie... We had no choice with him. We'd never have gotten back home if we hadn't—and he's perfectly fine anyway. Have you seen how much he teases that poor girl? He's quite happy!"

"Still..."

"Oi! Shush, I'm not finished. Then Kari, she said herself she's never gonna love anyone anyway—in, you know, lesser words—so marrying that noble guy was great for her;she gets completely spoiled by him! I reckon he's just trying to keep her temper at bay, or be honest.

"And then Tom; even if his wife's gonna be part of an arranged marriage, he was quite eager. He's no idiot, he knows we need the extra money from Poland. We're still pretty skint in royal terms. And she's a real beauty, too—I think he's quite looking forwards to their wedding night..."

"Kristoff!" Anna's voice was a shriek as she gave him a reasonably hard slap on the shoulder, making him wince. "Don't talk like that!"

"Oh, stop it Fiestypants. He's twenty one now, he's not your baby anymore."

"I know... That's what makes me sad." Anna's eyes suddenly grew watery as she cuddled up to her husband a little closer, snaking her gloved hands under his shirt—but only for warmth. "None of them are anymore. And Mia, it's her birthday and she's not here! She's always been around for her birthday!"

Kristoff sat up, snow falling off of his now damp shirt in lumps, and he wrapped his arms around Anna, pulling her onto his lap. "But she's coming in a few weeks anyway. All Christmas they're staying here—just look forwards to that!"

"But she should be here now. It's just not right, her being away for her birthday."

"Maybe when she comes over, you should tell her that. Maybe she'll come down for her birthday next year—given that she'll probably be staying in the Southern Isles for her Christmas then."

Receiving no reply, Kristoff looked up to the sky and frowned, noting the speed at which the sun now descended from its plinth. Then pushing Anna off of him, much to her initial chagrin, he walked over to the tree line and untied his wife's horse—a dark brown eleven year old gelding, Misty having died years before—and waited for her to come on over, giving her a foot up onto his back; neither person was as flexible as they had once been. Indeed, as Kristoff tried to mount his own steed—an off-white stallion—by use of a rock, he did end up having to pull his leg over in a rather ungainly fashion.

Trotting back through the woods was rather pleasuring, the soft shades much nicer than the many bold colours of Arendelle castle. As he went, Kristoff could feel his own heart suddenly uplifted by the peace and tranquility of it all, his horse equally happy to be out in the fresh air...

Anna, however, didn't seem quite so pleased. Pulling her gelding to a halt, she looked around momentarily before gasping and hopping off immediately, rushing deeper into the forest; Kristoff, of course, clamoured off after her without halt, not even thinking about the fact that both horses had just been left there.

"Anna!" His voice was powerful as he stampeded through the trees after her, suddenly skidding to a stop when he noticed her feeling around down some sort of hole perhaps twenty metres from the beaten track. A den, perhaps? "Anna, what the hell are you doing?"

"Mmm—one minute!" She continued to nuzzle around for a while, then grinning and drawing backwards, a loud mewling them sounding. Standing up and spinning, she then thrust her hands forwards, a small tawny... Thing found enclosed in them. "It's a Lynx, Kristoff!" she cried, yelping as the little creature began to writhe and squirm a little.

"What! Put it back, Anna!"

"Nope! Its really thin, and its brothers and sisters are all dead. They probably starved. I can't let this one die as well!"

"No, Anna-"

"Oh, shut up Kristoff. Its Mum's surely dead; it's no surprise in weather like we've had." Pulling the mewling baby closer, yelping a little as its tiny teeth bit into her hand, she then held it slightly further away and reached into her pocket, pulling out a partially eaten sandwich. Then opening it, she pulled out two munched slices of bacon and held it to the kitten. It, of course, devoured it all at once, desperately munching down the meat before licking its lips and nuzzling her hand, probably searching for more. Kristoff frowned at the scene, whereas Anna's face quickly changed into a massive grin.

"See! It's starving!"

Kristoff huffed and turned around, though he did grin a little; it wasn't possible not to. "Oh, come on. I'm sure the guards'll say something about it anyway."

"No they won't!" Anna chirped, tickling the little kitten's chin and earning another small nip. "They won't incase I get them fired or something!"

"Eh, I guess so." Kristoff mumbled, looking at the kitten and frowning. "Anna, you really can't-"

"I'm keeping it-" Pausing, Anna took a second to lift the little kitten higher to glance at its underbelly. "Uh, her."

"But-"

"Your highnesses!"A loud, somewhat concerned voice rang out and through the trees a guard came cantering. Skidding to a stop upon finding them, he then said, "Oh, thank god you're both okay. But, may I request that we keep moving and-Princess, what is that?"

Anna only shrugged and Kristoff let out a breath, folding his arms. "Her new pet, supposedly." he grumbled, looking at the little kitten with a scowl. The guard reciprocated the gesture as well, though he didn't say anything at first.

"I... I see." he murmured and Anna beamed, glancing to her husband and laughing before turning back to the guard.

"Well, shall we get back?" she asked, smiling sweetly and skipping away a short distance, seemingly having gotten over her previous sadness at the prospect of a new baby; both Kristoff and the guard shared a look before frowning in sync, then following after her to the track, the latter then climbing back onto his own horse who had, similarly to Anna's, only moved the short distance to a patch of grass. Once both royals had climbed back on, the guard from before had disappeared back into the shadows once more.

"You ready, Fiestypants?" Kristoff asked, a little put out that she'd just picked up a random baby lynx—but at least she was happier now.

"Sure thing!" she cried, pausing for just a second before galloping off, the kitten cradled in her arm as she tore away. Stunned for a moment, Kristoff then yelped as his own horse jumped into action, not willing to be left behind.

Tearing away back down to the kingdom, he gave a laugh of pure glee and kicked his stallion on, shouting at his wife as he chased after her, grinning as he watched the snow beginning to float lazily down to the ground all around.

Sure, they'd had it rough, and things were far from perfect—but at least they were better than they had been before.

* * *

**Thank you so much to everyone who's supported me over the years, it's been a long ride and it's definitely not been the easiest, I've had a lot of stress as a result of this f****ic! But when I look back at what I've accomplished it is, I guess, worth it—I've written half a million words, for heaven's sake! And this book is even longer than Harry Potter &amp; the Deathly Hallows! Haha, I feel so happy now!**

**I'd love some comments, especially from people I've not heard from before. I've put in a lot of work—if you've enjoyed it, I'd love a little back.**

**As for Odd's fate... Hahaha, that's up to you guys to decide! I know what happened, but I'm not going to tell. I'd love to hear what you think; would he leave his wife, son and daughter (kind of) on their own to mourn him, or would he fight through and be there for them? **

**Thanks for everything, and if you want more Frozen Powers, be sure to follow Jealouswayward—she's been planning a fan continuation of the trilogy for a while now and it's looking to be good! So yeah, keep an eye out.**

**I love you all so much, also if anyone wanted to make a fic or pic I wouldn't complain! (hehe)**

**For what is probably the last time (wow...)**

**-Luna**


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